It looks like a gremlin, but it is a pygmy tarsier , a nocturnal primate from the Indonesian forests that was believed to be extinct since 1921. But nothing could be further from the truth. Sharon Gursky-Doyen, an anthropologist at the University of Texas, with the help of student Nanda Grow and an indigenous group, managed to catch three of these creatures during the summer. By placing discreet necklaces with built-in radio transmitters on their necks, the researcher has been able to study their movements in the mountains of the Lore Lindu National Park.
The expedition to find the tarsiers was not easy. And not only because they are tiny animals, weighing just 60 grams. The Indonesian forests where these primates live are situated at an elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, and the excess of cold, fog and humidity is an added difficulty. Also, the search had to be done overnight.
One of the features to unequivocally distinguish the tarsier, explains Gursky-Doyen, is that instead of having nails like the rest of the primates, these animals have developed claws . "The claws could be an adaptation to the mossy environment," he says.
