Live "Furby" Found in Indonesia

Do you remember Furby? Back in the 1990's, Furbies were all the rage around Christmas time. These gremlin-looking creatures spoke "Furbish," but could be programmed to say some English words. Here's a reminder:

As it turns out, there's an animal that looks just like the fictional Furby living right now in the highlands of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Anthropologist Sharon Gursky-Doyen of Texas A&M University and her team found three of these mouse-sized nocturnal primates, called pygmy tarsiers. Previously, they were thought to be extinct.
(Images: Texas A&M University)

Pygmy tarsiers possess fingers with claws instead of nails. Nearly all other primates, including us humans, have nails.

Their little claws may have evolved to help them scale mossy trees. They live 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level in a moist, mountainous terrain. The researchers had to fight off hypothermia and forever struggled to stay upright in the slippery environment.

Here's a short, silent film showing extremely rare footage of this tiny night prowler. Conservationists hope that the Indonesian goverment will take steps to protect the pygmy tarsier. This latest study was funded by the National Geographic Society, Conservation International Primate Action Fund, Primate Conservation Incorporated and Texas A&M University.