She is alive, and this is great news for this endangered species. The Alba orangutan, the only albino specimen known in the world, was observed this week, in good health, in the tropical forest of Borneo.
In 2017, this blond haired, blue-eyed female was discovered locked in a cage by villagers from Kalimantan, on the Indonesian part of the island. She was then rescued by the authorities and animal rights defenders, before being released in late 2018.
More than a year later, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) has just announced that the primate was spotted while its carers were monitoring three other recently released orangutans.
"Since we know that she can build nests, feed herself independently and that she no longer depends on human help, we have concluded that she could survive in the forest," says Indra. Exploitasia, director of conservation and biodiversity at the Ministry of the Environment.
Orangutans have seen their habitat drastically reduced in recent decades largely by deforestation linked to the paper, palm oil and mining industries.
My Earth Newsletter
Each week, environmental news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
They are sometimes attacked by villagers and plantation workers, who consider them pests. Poachers also capture them for sale as pets.
