A Bohemian in Bohol: A chance encounter with Chocolate Hills and Philippine gems

Soft corals of Bohol reef.

The pull of the underwater couldn’t keep this photographer at bay for long. Vibrant coral reefs, big pelagic fish, reef sharks and macro marine life, Bohol has it all. I dived in straight and smooth, the lack of human civilisation in and around the waters a blessing in disguise, giving me good visibility and a chance to exchange greetings with the tiger tail seahorse and the world’s largest fish, whale sharks.

A whale shark.

But I knew I couldn’t leave the island without a look at the endangered Philippine tarsier, endemic to the region. The human fist-sized primate (though not the smallest in the world), with large bulging eyes, locally called mawmag/mamag, is a near-threatened species under conservation in the Philippines. They don’t survive in captivity or outside their natural habitat, in which case their life expectancy can reduce by two-12 years from their usual 24.

A tiger tail seahorse.

A Philippine tarsier.

Their sore eyes would indicate poor diet, and they can get suicidal. A touch or a camera flash can stress them out, making them bang their heads against hard objects, and breaking their thin skulls. Tourists can see them but with necessary restrictions. If you are lucky like me, you can spot three in an hour at daytime at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. The shy nocturnal animal mostly leads a hidden life. During the day, it sleeps in dark hollows close to the ground, near tree trunks and shrubs, deep in the impenetrable bushes and forests. When hunger pangs strike, they become active, mostly at night, prowling around for insects, spiders, crustaceans, among other creepy-crawlies.