World’s only Albino Orangutan spotted Alive and Thrives after released into Borneo forest
The world’s only known albino orangutan has been spotted alive and well in a Borneo rainforest, more than a year after she was released into the wild.
Alba, a blue-eyed primate covered in fuzzy white hair, was taken in 2017 from a cage where she was being kept as a pet by villagers in Indonesia’s section of Borneo, known as Kalimantan.
Alba, which means ‘white’ in Latin, was released back into the wild in late 2018.
Alba, believed to be approximately six years old, appears a healthy weight and content in the wilds of Borneo as conservationists discover her foraging for food in a tree
Health issues particular to albino species appear to be no problem for this cheeky young primate, who playfully looks down at the conservationists keen to find out how she is
When first discovered by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation in Tanggiran village, Kalimantan, Alba was severely underweight from lack of food, riddled with parasites and suffering from dehydration.
The conservation group believed she had become separated from her mother prior to capture.
At the time, she could not immediately return to the wild because of health issues relating to her albinism, which could have made her vulnerable to hunters.
Albino species of primate can suffer from poor eyesight and hearing, and have an increased chance of developing skin cancer in later life.
The conservation group restored Alba to good health, and in June 2018 moved her to a 10-hectare man-made ‘forest island’ near the group’s orangutan rehabilitation centre in Kalimantan.
A public appeal to raise $80,000 to buy land for the special reserve is still accepting donations.
Alba, who is approximately six years old, was joined in her new home by three other orangutans – a four-year-old female called Radmala, a six-year-old female called Kika, and Unyu, a four-year-old male.
They received round the clock observation by staff who monitor their health and behaviour.
Then, in December 2018, Alba was released into the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park following a more than 24-hour journey from her rehabilitation center.
The Natural Resources Conservation Agency made the decision to release Alba into the wild at the time because she had become physically strong and learned essential behaviours for survival.
She was electronically tagged by the foundation and regularly monitored by a medical team.
Alba enjoying some watermelon on a branch while she was being restored to full health by a conservation group in Kalimantan
A much healthier Alba eagerly awaiting her imminent release into the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
She is back to full health and the authorities are confident she can survive in the wild with light supervision
Here’s the moment Alba is released from her cage, striding boldly in her glossy white coat into the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park
‘Alba has no inferiority complex as we imagined before. She is very confident compared to other orangutans,’ said veterinarian Agus Fathoni to The Associated Press at the time.
Fathoni added the real threat to Alba’s life was from poachers who consider her a valuable target because of her special condition.
This week, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation said Alba was spotted as it monitored three other orangutans who were recently released.
“After we learned that she can build nests, forage independently and is no longer dependent on human assistance we concluded that she can survive in the forest,” said Indra Exploitasia, the environment ministry’s director of biodiversity conservation.
Alba’s rescue was some rare positive news for the critically endangered species, which has seen its habitat shrink drastically over the past few decades largely due to the destruction of forests for logging, paper, palm oil and mining.
Plantation workers and villagers are sometimes known to attack the animals because they see them as a pest, while poachers also capture them to sell as pets.
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