# What Do Philippine Tarsiers Eat?

> What philippine tarsiers eat: Carnivore — insects, lizards, and small vertebrates, foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Lowland and montane forests of the Philippines.

- **Species:** Philippine Tarsier (*Carlito syrichta*)
- **Conservation status:** Near Threatened
- **Diet:** Carnivore — insects, lizards, and small vertebrates
- **Habitat:** Lowland and montane forests of the Philippines
- **Lifespan:** 10–12 years in the wild
- **Top speed:** Leaps over 40 body lengths; up to 24 km/h in bursts
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/tarsier/what-do-tarsier-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/tarsier/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The Philippine tarsier is a tiny nocturnal primate found only in the forests of the southern Philippines. Weighing just 80 to 160 g and small enough to fit in a human hand, it has enormous eyes, each larger than its brain, and can leap more than 40 times its own body length between branches. Tarsiers are strictly carnivorous, live around 10 to 12 years in the wild, and are classed as Near Threatened.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Enormous eyes and night vision

The tarsier's most striking feature is its pair of huge, fixed eyes, each roughly the size of its brain, which give it superb vision in near-total darkness. Because the eyes cannot move in their sockets, the tarsier instead rotates its head almost 180 degrees in each direction, like an owl, to scan for prey. Large membranous ears and sensitive hearing complete a body built entirely around hunting at night.

## Help protect the Philippine Tarsier

The philippine tarsier is listed as Near Threatened, with habitat loss the leading threat to its future.

[Donate to protect habitat](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/appeals/habitats/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/tarsier/what-do-tarsier-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.