Why do animal species Tarsiers usually commit suicide?

Do you ever wonder why animal species Tarsiers, small mammals from South Asia, usually commit suicide voluntarily? If your answer is yes, then this article is for you to find out the reasons behind this mysterious and unusual suicidal behavior of Tarsiers.

Tarsiers have gained widespread attention for their unusual traits and a concerning trend. We commonly observe them engage in self-destructive behavior (suicide), which can occasionally result in death.

This suicidal behavior usually comes in the captivity of Tarsiers. The main cause behind this behavior is hyper-stress sensitivity, which led them to commit suicide in their captivity.

Tarsiers are wild nature animals who live in their adapted environments of nighttime and open forest or wild woodlands. However, captivity exposes them to harsh lightning conditions, confined quarters, and constant human interaction.

All these factors appear quite disturbing to them and serve as massive stressors in Tarsiers during captivity. These stressors have the potential to cause extreme anxiety and panic.

They may cause tarsiers to be involved in destructive actions, like hitting their heads against cage walls. We commonly observe this action of tarsiers during captivity, which most of the times lead to their death.

Another possible factor behind their suicidal behavior is the extreme sensitivity of Tarsiers to aural stimuli. Aural stimuli refer to the sense of hearing or ability to understand sounds.

This ability of Tarsiers allows their keen hearing as they can identify even the lightest sounds in their native environments. The unexpected and loud noises in their captive situation might create overwhelming noisy chaos.

Click here to read why bats sleep upside down and fly in the night.

Their stress levels may rise due to this hearing overload, and they may commit drastic ways to block out the constant noise. Another factor may be the nutritional requirements of Tarsiers. They eat insects mostly in the wild because they supply certain nutrients- necessary for their well-being.

The poor and less nutritious food for Tarsiers during captivity usually affects their physical and mental health. Malnutrition suppresses their ability to fight stress, which increases their vulnerability to self-destructive behavior or suicide.

Hence, environmental stress, noise overload, and malnutrition create a hostile environment for tarsiers, explaining why these poor animal species usually commit suicide.