Long-Lost 'Furby' Species Found

Tiny primate thought extinct found alive and well in Indonesian mountaintop forest
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 20, 2008 4:21 AM CST

Scientists on a remote Indonesian mountaintop have discovered a pocket-sized primate not seen alive since the 1920s, CNN reports. The giant-eyed, two-ounce pygmy tarsier had been thought extinct until one was found dead in a rat trap, inspiring a professor from Texas A&M University to lead an expedition to Sulawesi. She was delighted to find the Furby-like creatures still living in the island cloud forest.

"They exist. Oh my God, they exist. They're real," the professor said. Three of the nocturnal creatures were tagged and released into the wild. The professor hopes the findings will persuade the Indonesian government to put the brakes on human encroachment into the tarsiers' habitat.
(More primates stories.)

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