chonggo magu, a photo from Bohol, Central Visayas

Photographer's Note

in my native Basilan Island, this cutie locally is called chonggo magu. i remember when i was little i joined my brothers and cousins for some hunting sprees of chonggo magu in the bushes at noon. being nocturnal, noon was the best time to catch them, i remember my cousin, Efren telling us. he was then the "lead hunter"..:-). this time, i feel bad as these chonggo magu are near extinction. but thankful as well to the DENR for its efforts to currently protect and conserve them.

the philippine tarsier is known among other locals as mawmag, mamag, mago, magau, maomag, malmag and magatiloklok. once have been endemic to southeastern part of the philippine archipelago, particularly in the provinces of Bohol, Samar, Leyte and most of Mindanao. its geographic range also includes Maripipi, Siargao, Basilan and Dinagat Islands.

believed to be 45 million years old and perhaps one of the oldest land species to continously live in the Philippines, it was only introduced to western biologists in the 18th century.

it is a very peculiar small animal, the smallest known primates, no larger than an adult man's fist. it lives on a diet of insects such as cockroaches and crickets. in captivity will eat live shrimps and fish in a bowl of water.

in 1986, the philippine tarsier was assessed as "endangered" by the IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. on September 13, 1991, the Department of Environment and Natural resources (DENR) listed the philippine tarsier as an endangered species and several legislations have been passed to protect and conserve them.

for anyone interested to see one, contact-
the Philippine Tarsier Foundation
Km. 14 Canapnapan, Corella, Bohol 6300
email: [email protected]
website: http://www.philippinetarsier.org

info source : wikipedia

Csilla, flory, Bruno40, LamCam, cunejo200, rigoletto, kiwi_explorer, bostankorkulugu, stego, belido, plimrn, German74, Wanda1, difty93, adores, daddo ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

Csilla (1782) 2008-01-14 20:53

Hi Benedict!
Super close up photo of this giant eyed, cute little animal (chonggo magu).
Thanks for sharing!
Csilla

Tibo (1906) 2008-01-14 21:03

Hi benedict!!! So cute!! massive cristal eyes!! I am trying hard to get my ticket to Philippines but have some pb these days...anyway, I should be in Palawan from feb 5th to 14th... Do you think I have a chance to see one of those in this island? and maybe I'll see you!! Thanks for sharing this tender image with us. Tibo

jorgi (3810) 2008-01-14 22:31

Hi Benedict,

what an adorable motive to capture. Great focus on very sharp and vivid eyes, dominating whole image. So cute!

Best regards,
Jeri

flory (4848) 2008-01-14 22:35

hi Benedict,
hypnotic eyes,imagine how is in the night;)
thanks for this amazing tarsier,tell him that i'm still hypnotized...;)
Flori

Bruno40 (6662) 2008-01-15 3:45

Hi Benedict,
I met them in Bohol. They are very special animals, kind of toy due to their cuteness.
Your photo is well composed, good sharpness. Maybe the DOF too shallow.
well done
Jorge
PS: you were a bad boy when kid, diba?

LamCam (3717) 2008-01-15 3:57

Hello Benedict
Shocking to hear of yet another marvellous creature near to extinction. Your focussing makes the most of the mesmerising eyes, capturing their spectacular colour and reflections beautifully whilst still giving us a good impression of the texture of the fur and the shape of the tiny hands.
Very interesting note also.
Best wishes Maggie

cunejo200 (7281) 2008-01-15 4:30

Such a cute photo of the tarsier grasping a branch. The eyes are particularly sharp and appealing. I would assume that next you'll be showing us the green Loboc River with the falls at the end of the river cruise. Thanks for posting this Ben as it brings back good memories. Hala, time to take a shower and earn some $$$. Danilo

aadilj (18102) 2008-01-15 6:25

Thats lovely and very well captured benedict in all its innocence and cuteness to say the least. I always like the diversity in your work.Nice composition here.

MarcT (20964) 2008-01-15 6:41

Ni Benedict,
That's a gorgeous little beast with beautiful big eyes.
Well "captured"
Marc

vikous (2217) 2008-01-15 9:47

Hi Benedict!
There is just a few photos here on TE that makes me laughing but this is one of them! Great shot of this little cute animal!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful shot with us!
best regards,
viktor

siamesa (28231) 2008-01-15 15:10

Hi Benedict,
I never had saw this little animal. Amazing eyes.
Regards
Maria

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2008-01-15 22:47

Hello Ben,
Parang galing sa Starwars :) Sharpness and DOF is quite good here, Bai. I had a hard time capturing a photo of this animal in Bohol because it was very unsettled and keep on jumping. Very good notes too ... I'm now learning more of our interesting history. Well captured and composed. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

rigoletto (34279) 2008-01-16 0:32

Hi Prince Charming!
(not to you, i am adressing Mr. Chonggo Magu, LOL)
This charming thing always resembles a friend of mine, so he always looks friendly to me :)))
Very nice note for him as well. You are lucky for having seen him in real, i've only seen in books and magazines :(
BW,
Deniz

sebinho342 (19329) 2008-01-16 9:10

OHHHH TROP MIGNON !!!!
Qu'elle horrible petite chose, j'en veux une comme ça a la maison !!! les gremlins existent donc :))
Incroyable, superbe photo

OHH THIS IS SO CUTE !!!
What an horrible little thing, i want one in my house !! So gremlins exist :)
Incredible, i love this shot ... and i showed it around me at my office today :))

paololg (31448) 2008-01-16 14:57

Ciao Benedict,
what a look! It seems an alien extraterrestrial. Really curious and interesting image for this little known animal. I hope not to dream it this night! I like a lot the photo, beautiful job.
TFS
Paolo.

bostankorkulugu (42866) 2008-01-16 17:09

hey this is so adorable... what's wrong with his left ear?... a real cool portrait of this smiling creature:D...

cheers benny...

korkut

Clementi (52514) 2008-01-17 1:49

Ciao benedict ,
what the giant eyes that it has this beautifulst animal.
the shot are superbe in clarity and colors .
good job
Giorgio

anducina (8407) 2008-01-17 2:05

Strange, funny and touching little guy, with its huge eyes (we can see the forest in them !)and tiny fingers. Excellent capture and details, interesting note.

TFS,

Andreea

clnaef (6289) 2008-01-19 4:11

Bonjour,
Quel regard ! Belle présentation.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

stego (24132) 2008-01-19 7:46

Hi Benedict,
One could think that it is an invention of a scifi director rather than a earthly creature that really exists. His eyes are so big! You achieved capturing it very nicely. He looks great and very crisp against that blurred light BG.
Regards, José.

elherbz (0) 2008-01-19 10:07

Wow!Great shot & details to support. Magu's green eyes are hynotic. Keep up the good work.

belido (19934) 2008-01-20 5:29

Hi mi amigo,

finally I found some time to check TE. I'm here just to say hello and I see this well presented portrait. I'm in love with this animal. It looks so graceful and cute. Excellent capture!
Cheers from a Haskovo lanhouse!!!
Carlos
PS: I will soon go back to normal life.

Jepoy (32) 2008-01-20 18:17

A very nice photo of the tarsier! I love them coz of their uber cuteness! Good composition and nice close up.

Gratz!

smarcell (19965) 2008-01-24 5:49

WHat a funny animal. I saw it other times in other pictures, but this is really cute. I can't stop looking its eyes !
Regards Stefano

plimrn (21344) 2008-01-24 20:15

Hi Benedict;
Stunning detail, weonderful framing, great DOF A+++.

Kalusugan, Kaibigan,& Kasiyahan, Pat

steeve (1497) 2008-01-30 13:31

The focus is'nt there but the picture is nice. I could imagine that is'nt easy to catch that beast with your camera. You push a litle on usm wich makes the eyes oustanding. Still good shot.

German74 (777) 2008-02-01 12:43

Guau Benedict, excelente retrato y me resultan asombrosos los ojos de este animalito, lástima que este en peligro de extinción... la nota con la que describes tu foto es muy extensa y completa...

Abrazos...

golden (2289) 2008-02-01 12:54

Hello Benedict,
beautiful portrait.Great focus on his extraordinary eyes.

Great work...

Wanda1 (15142) 2008-02-03 4:37

Hi Benedict,
He is too cute for words! we have a similar animal in South Africa called the Bush Baby and it looks almost exactly the same. A great capture, the eyes are simply fabulous.
Regards
Wanda

zmey (7335) 2008-02-06 7:33

hello benedict

thanks for stopping by and that way letting me discover your gallery. if you started your learning here on TE: i must say, TE is heck of a great place to learn. fantastic results training you :) anyway, what i wanted to say was that you have a wonderful galery. definitely worth a revisit.

as to this fellow: i just love him and his shiny eyes... the best "actor" i have seen in a very long time :) maybe, just maybe the DOF is too shallow (for my very personal taste, since in this case i would love to see his whole body in detail), but it sure helps us to concentrate on his eyes.

good job, friend!

my compliments and TFS
kristaps

denisn72 (8314) 2008-02-10 13:36

Hello Benedict
It is funny to look at that chonggo magu. It has big eyes and it is smiling! The details are impressive and I like the way it is standing at that branche. Well done and thanks for sharing.
Best regards
Denis!

difty93 (545) 2008-03-05 13:47

Hi Bnedict,
this is a wonderful picture!...i love this little animal!
well done!

Vivi

adores (46979) 2008-03-05 15:27

Hi Benedict!
It's really nice, you captured him very well. I like the composition, his huge eyes and the blurred background.
I didn't know this species is now in danger but it's good to know that measures are being taken to protect them.

erguvan (773) 2008-03-16 21:18 [Comment]

Show Comment

daddo (28748) 2008-03-25 22:09

Hi Benedict. What a sweet creature.And it is so vulnerable judging by your notes. So much effort over millions of years to survive and then humans come along and ... Long may its kind live and add to the charms of the Philippines. Great detailed shot.Regards. Klaudio.

Isa-M (4026) 2008-12-18 9:54

Hi Benedict!

WOW -amazing eyes :)
Very nice small animal - good photo composition...
TFS,
IZabela

Vasa (515) 2009-05-25 15:58

Hi Benedict,

your lovely, lovely model. The picture is also lovely, lovely. I've just seen all your pictures. A walk with pleasure. So glad to meet you and proud of your visit.

Friendly

Branko

macjake (98456) 2009-10-25 9:05

Hi Benedict

I'm still not sure if this little guy is cute or the most ugliest animal i've ever seen!
regardless, its a wonderful moment captured, as he's grabbing onto that tree looking so scared.
Eyes are well focused and have bright lights in them
Very well done
Thanks
Craig