Cousin from Mindanao

The U.S. may soon get a look at one of man's oddest cousins: a hopping, nocturnal, long-tailed-creature called a tarsier. Zoologists are fascinated by tarsiers, which are classed as primates, primitive members of man's own family. But up to now, the tarsier has been admired from afar: there are none in U.S. captivity.

When the war ended, two jungle-trotting G.I.s decided to stay in the Philippines and go tarsier trapping. Captain Harry Hoogstraal made a deal with Chicago's Natural History Museum, and Charles Wharton signed up the Washington Zoo. Then they set off into the jungle country of southern Mindanao, where tarsiers were known to be at large.

As a financial investment, tarsiers add up to important zoological money. They are about the size of squirrels. Their tails, equipped with sensitive hairs, are nearly twice as long as their bodies. They have round, owlish eyes and operate mostly at night, hopping through the branches like miniature kangaroos.

In spite of these non-human characteristics, tarsiers are genuine primates. They can stand upright, like a man; their spinal columns, like man's, hang from the base of the skull. Instead of claws, they have long, spatulate fingers and tiny fingernails.

The hunters would have been content to catch three or four tarsiers. But Mindanao proved to be a happy hunting ground. The native system is to track through the jungle sniffing out the tarsiers by their musty odor. When the hunter shakes the trees, the tarsiers move on. When a sizable number have congregated in an isolated tree, the natives shinny up and grab them, knowing that tarsiers, like owls, cannot move around very efficiently in daylight.

The expedition collected 100 live tarsiers, got half of them to Davao in good condition. Among the casualties: a few tarsier babies eaten by their mothers.