Today, I would like to introduce you to a special friend that is only found in the Philippines…the Philippine Tarsier. I, first, became interested when I saw the Lemurs in the movie Madagascar. Dada told me that we had our own similar Lemur call the Philippine Tarsier. That’s when I really became interested in my new animal friend.
Mama and I have done some research on the Internet on my friend. I like the Tarsier because they are so small and have very big eyes. The Philippine Tarsier, (Tarsius syrichta) is very peculiar small animal. In fact it is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a adult man’s hand. Mostly active at night, it lives on a diet of insects. Folk traditions sometimes has it that Tarsiers eat charcoal, but actually they retrieve the insects from (sometimes burned) wood. It can be found in the islands of Samar, Leyte, Bohol, and Mindanao in the Philippines.
The species is believed to be about 45 million years old, dating back to the early Eocene period, and probably one of the oldest land species continuously existing in the Philippines. The Tarsier was first introduced to Western biologists through the description given to J. Petiver by the missionary J.G. Camel of an animal said to have come from the Philippines. Petiver published Camel’s description in 1705 and named the animal Cercopithecus luzonis minimus which was the basis for Linnaeus’ (1758) Simia syrichta and eventually Tarsius syrichta. Among the locals, the Tarsier is known as “mamag”, “mago”, “magau”, “maomag”, “malmag” and “magatilok-iok”.
The Philippine Tarsier has a gray fur and a nearly naked tail. The middle finger is elongated. Head and body length are around 118-149 mm; It weighs 113-142 grams. Males are larger than females. In comparison with his body size, the eyes of the Tarsier are enormous. In volume, the capacity of the bony eye sockets, is larger than that of the brain case, and also larger than its stomach.
Tarsiers live in and around the base of tree trunks and the roots of plants such as bamboo. They can occasionally be found in holes at the top of trees. In Mindanao, Tarsiers appear to thrive best in second or third growth thickets along the coast and in the valleys. The Philippine tarsier is nocturnal; they hunt at night, exclusively for animal prey. At day time, they hide in hollows close to the ground. When kept in captivity, individuals may huddle together or intertwine their tails. They are believed to live in groups, larger than just one male and one female. The female appears to take care for the young exclusively: no male parental care has been observed. Tarsiers live exclusively on animal prey. Their diet includes primarily insects such as cockroaches and crickets, but may occasionally be extended with reptiles, birds, and bats. A Philippine Tarsier in captivity will eat live shrimp and fish in a bowl of water. Tarsiers can live up to 12 to 20 years old.
Currently, the Philippine Tarsier is categorized as a “lower risk, conservation dependent” species, which means that, although it is not yet categorized as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, it could qualify for one of those categories within five years if the present protection programs are stopped.
Outside the Philippines, a number of relatives of the Philippine Tarsier can be found, among them the Bornean Tarsier of Borneo and Sumatra, the Spectral Tarsier, the lesser Spectral Tarsier or Pygmy Tarsier, and Dian’s Tarsier of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Pygmy Tarsier, by the way, is considerably smaller than the Philippine Tarsier, while the Pygmy Mouse Lemur, found only in Madagascar, is now being recognized as the smallest primate in the world.
So, I hope you were able to learn about an exciting animal that lives in our wonderful country called the Philippines!
As you may have noticed, I have been away from DJ’s World for quite a few days. I am not going to make excuses for my absence. As you all know I am only 4 years old. My Mama and Dada help me a lot with this site but it was my decision to try and make it a success. I felt that I could learn a lot by setting up the site and with my parent’s help, I could learn many new things and make new friends.
I have learned so much in the short period of time that I have had DJ’s World. What I don’t understand is why my visitors will not leave comments. I know that many people are visiting everyday but they don’t want to take the time to comment. I understand Mama when she tells me that it is the visitor’s choice.
I told Mama and Dada that I wanted a little break from doing DJ’s World everyday. They told me that it will always be my choice as to how we run DJ’s World. Mama and Dada knew in the first couple of months that 7 days a week would be too much for me so they cut the time to 5 days a week.
The good news is I feel rested and I am ready to get back to the fun of DJ’s World. I will begin posting again either tomorrow or the next day.
Please try to understand that this is a lot of work for a 4 year old and most kids my age do not even want to try a site on the Internet. I thank all my visitors for taking the time to visit me at DJ’s World and hope that you will continue your visits.
I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Saturday, I was watching television and saw a public service announcement about what cigarette smoke does to children. It was not nice and it was really scary to think what smoke from some one’s cigarette, cigar, or pipe can do to the growth of a child.
I decided to talk to Mama and Dada about this problem. Dada said that when he was young, he smoked. He said that during that time there was not much known about the dangers of smoking. He said that it was a “dirty” “nasty” habit and he was so glad when he quit. We have a few relatives that smoke but Mama and Dada will not allow them to smoke in our house. We live in a smoke-free home. My parents will not allow us to go anywhere there is smoking like a store, restaurant, or another family’s home that has smoking. Dada said it is impossible to be a 100% smoke-free but he said that we must work towards that goal.
Here are some facts from the UICC (International Union Against Cancer): Around 700 million children - almost half of the world’s children - breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home. On 4 February 2008, World Cancer Day directed a simple message to parents: “Second-hand smoke is a health hazard for you and your family. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Give your child a smoke-free childhood.”
Second-hand smoke (SHS), also known as environmental tobacco smoke, consists of both the smoke that is exhaled from the lungs of smokers and the smoke that is given off by a burning tobacco product between puffs. Second-hand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or cancer-causing. The 2006 United States Surgeon General’s Report concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke and that even brief exposures can be harmful.
A single cigarette smoked in a room with poor ventilation generates much higher concentrations of toxic substances in the air than normal, everyday activities in a city. Toxic compounds from second-hand smoke linger in the air for an extended period of time. Nicotine from second-hand smoke is deposited on household surfaces and in dust. The air quality found inside a car with someone smoking is similar to or worse than the air quality found in smoky bars.Non-smokers who are exposed even briefly to a smoky environment take up and process (metabolize) the components of tobacco smoke.
Exposure to second-hand smoke in children increases risk of:
Low birth weight
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Ear infections
Poor lung development
Bronchitis and pneumonia
Asthma, cough, and wheeze
Being exposed to second-hand smoke as a child may lead to respiratory problems later in life.
If your Mama or Dada smokes, please tell them that it is not healthy for them and it will hurt your childhood health. Childhood health is very important because this is the time when your body grows. Do everything you can to avoid smoke from people who smoke.
Mama is including a download report from the UICC (International Union Against Cancer) that gives all the facts so your parents can make healthy decisions for your family. Please click this link to start the download process: Protecting Our Children From Second-Hand Smoke
Here is a copy of the public service announcement for your viewing:
The 18th of July has “come and gone” without any major earthquake in the Philippines. Sure we, most likely, had our average of 20+ minor earthquakes today which the average person doesn’t even know is happening. That is a part of our normal, daily life in the Philippines. My brother and sisters are happy because they know that Mama and Dada will always tell us the truth and do everything in their power to protect us.
The more important point is this: rumors and gossip are usually, in the end, proven to be false. Most start out for fun or to get someone attention but they can turn evil and hurt people. Mama said that it is better to say nothing about someone then to speak bad or make up things about them. She said that God wants us all to live in peace and harmony. Dada said that if we were to spend more time trying to learn about each other; we would have less disagreements and wars.
So, the 18th of July has “come and gone” and sure we will get a major earthquake in the future…a day, month, year, century, or a millennium but God will decide not the rumor makers. That is the way it should be in life.
I am sorry that I have not posted the last two days. It has been very rainy the whole week and I have had to stay inside. I don’t like it when I can’t be outside and play with my friends. Rainy weather tends to make me sleepy so I have been napping in the afternoons. I haven’t been on the computer much as I have been learning to write with Mama’s help and, also, I have been watching movies.
I would like to talk , today, about an important lesson that I learned today. It is about rumors. Mama said that a rumor is information that can not be proven to be true that is spread by people to other people. She said that rumors are very dangerous and can hurt people.
The past couple of weeks there has been a rumor being spread that Friday, July 18th there will be an 8.1 magnitude earthquake in the Philippines. Now, the rumor goes that a man, who is a school teacher in Brazil, has been making predictions, for many years, about many things and is ”always right”. An 8.1 earthquake is an almost total destruction earthquake. Millions of people could die.
The Philippine government was very quick to say that this is only a rumor and that everyone should know that no one can predict when an earthquake will strike but Filipino people live with earthquakes everyday and it is something that is real and feared. The Philippines averages 20+ earthquakes a day. Now, almost all of them are so small that a human being can not feel them. The past few weeks we have been having a couple of 4 to 5 magnitude earthquakes each week. When you connect that to what happened in China (a “next door neighbor” of the Philippines) and the millions of people killed; you can understand the extreme fear among the Filipino people.
Wednesday night, Mama was talking to my brother and sisters before prayers and they told her that they were afraid of the earthquake that was coming on Friday. Later that night, Mama talked to Dada about it and Mama said she wanted to keep them home from school as they were so afraid. Dada started to do some research on the Internet and found out that this man in Brazil had NOT predicted there was going to be an earthquake but he said there would be typhoons during the month of July in the Philippines and China that would kill many people. Well, we did, in fact, have a very bad typhoon this month called “Frank” and many people died in the Philippines and China. That prediction was not a ”big deal” because the Philippines gets 20+ typhoons a year during the rainy season and July is right in the middle of the rainy season. Dada, also, found out that this man is really in question as being able to predict anything at all. His record of predicting over that last few years has been less than 30% correct. Dada said that almost anyone can guess anything and get that percent of correct predictions. This man is considered by most people around the world to be a fraud.
My brother and sisters attended school Thursday. When they came home and we were eating dinner, they told us how the children are scared in school and how some teachers talked like it was going to really happen. Because of this, my two younger sisters are so afraid that they will not attend school on Friday. My older brother and sister will attend school but I think they are trying to be brave.I know that they have their doubts.
Mama said that this is what happens when someone decides to start a rumor. She said that most times people do it for a joke or to get special attention. Dada said that once a rumor is started it begins to develop a life of its own and becomes a “truth” to innocent people. I saw today what a rumor did to my brother and sisters and I think that it is cruel and unjust. Mama said that only God knows what is planned for all of us. She said that it is up to all of us to face life and try to live life the best that we can. Whether we must face storms, earthquakes or any other disaster; we must face them with full faith in God’s will for all of us.
Mama said that all of us should learn a lesson from this and it is: don’t gossip or spread rumors about anyone or anything as it will only cause harm to someone.
Dada said if there is an earthquake Friday, it will not be caused by a rumor but by the natural forces that we live with each and everyday.
What do you think about rumors and gossip? Please leave your comments.
Hi There! DJ's World is an Internet safe website where children from 4 to 14 years old can visit with their parents and have a fun time getting to know DJ and other children from around the world. DJ's World provides educational resources and fun - to - do projects. We will explore the world around us and try to better understand each other. Come on a fun journey at DJ's World! Thank you for stopping by and please visit often.
Hi Everyone! If you have questions or suggestions about DJ's World, please leave them as a comment on the daily posting. If you have a URL Link, include it in the line provided in the Comments area.Otherwise, you can contact me at the following e-mail address: talkwithdj@theworldofdj.com I will be featuring the best questions in my DJ's World postings and cartoons. I look forward to your mail. Thanks!
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Today, I would like to introduce you to a special friend that is only found in the Philippines…the Philippine Tarsier. I, first, became interested when I saw the Lemurs in the movie Madagascar. Dada told me that we had our own similar Lemur call the Philippine Tarsier. That’s when I really became interested in my new animal friend.
introduced to Western biologists through the description given to J. Petiver by the missionary J.G. Camel of an animal said to have come from the Philippines. Petiver published Camel’s description in 1705 and named the animal Cercopithecus luzonis minimus which was the basis for Linnaeus’ (1758) Simia syrichta and eventually Tarsius syrichta. Among the locals, the Tarsier is known as “mamag”, “mago”, “magau”, “maomag”, “malmag” and “magatilok-iok”.
As you may have noticed, I have been away from DJ’s World for quite a few days. I am not going to make excuses for my absence. As you all know I am only 4 years old. My Mama and Dada help me a lot with this site but it was my decision to try and make it a success. I felt that I could learn a lot by setting up the site and with my parent’s help, I could learn many new things and make new friends.
Here are some facts from the UICC (International Union Against Cancer): Around 700 million children - almost half of the world’s children - breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home. On 4 February 2008, World Cancer Day directed a simple message to parents: “Second-hand smoke is a health hazard for you and your family. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Give your child a smoke-free childhood.”
I am sorry that I have not posted the last two days. It has been very rainy the whole week and I have had to stay inside. I don’t like it when I can’t be outside and play with my friends. Rainy weather tends to make me sleepy so I have been napping in the afternoons. I haven’t been on the computer much as I have been learning to write with Mama’s help and, also, I have been watching movies.
