A spectral tarsier in a forest of North Sulawesi, Indonesia
The spectral Tarsier (Tarsius spectrum) is a member of the Tarsier family and living on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and is also reffered to as 'Sulawesi Tarsier'. It is about 25 centimeters long and weighs 94–154 grams. .
They sleep in hollow trees, palm trees, or thick vines. Spectral Tarsiers are not very social animals, they encounter each other only once in a while during the night when they feed on insects. During the day they sleep most of the time and socially interact only a short time of the day.
They are polygamous, female spectral tarsiers give one birth a year and the gestation period lasts 190 days. It is famous for its leaping abilities; it is able to cross gaps of up to 6 m (20 ft). The basic group of tarsius is made up of the mated pair and their offspring. However they sleep in groups. Pairs are territorial, chasing other conspecifics out of their home range. Females will stay in their groups until they are adults, while males will emigrate when they are still juveniles. They can live between 8 and 12 years.
To capture that photograph, we rented the services of a guide which took us along in the jungle of Sulawesi North. After 5 hours of walk in a choking heat and ways that only the guide could know, we arrived in front of an enormous tree. We awaited the twilight to start to see the first tarsiers. The light was very weak on the one hand because of the night which fell and the density of the vegetation which surrounded us. Moreover we had remained with 3 meters because the tarsiers were a little anxious by our presence. We used a 200mm and an external flash. Finally ten photographs remained in stock. The return in the jungle and the black night will remain for us an extraordinary memory under the cries of the large black monkeys and to pay especially well attention to the tarantulae in hunting
