Alba , the albino orangutan , might just be the only one of her kind in the world . Having deliver her from captivity earlier this twelvemonth , conservationists now want to produce a huge " woodland island " reserve for her so that she can populate in peace .
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundationhopes to raise $ 80,000to get the projection up and run . Its plan is to home Alba , whose name means “ white ” in Latin , and three other Pongo pygmaeus in a huge 5 - hectare ( 12 - acre ) reserve in central Kalimantan , Borneo , Associated Pressreports . It will be fence by a moat and supervise to protect her from poachers .
Alba is think to suffer from albinism , a genetical shape that results in a complete absence of melanin , the pigment that gives color to skin and hair . However , she has gamey center , suggesting she might have leucism , a similar circumstance that causes a fond loss of melanin .
Both specie of orangutan – Bornean the Sumatran – are critically endangered . They are only found on the Confederacy - eastward Asiatic island of Borneo and Sumatra . Alba , aBornean Orangutan , is peculiarly rare . There are an estimate 100,000 individual leave in the state of nature but this bit is precipitously falling due to habitat release and poaching . There ’s around 14,000Sumatran Orangutansleft in the wild and their future is no brighter than their cousin ' in Borneo .
Alba ’s all - white pigmentation shit her a particularly easy and desirable target area for poachers . It also means she has other health trouble , such as issues with her imaginativeness and susceptibility to skin cancer . These problems make it nearly impossible for her to be rejoin to the wild .
The unbelievably rare imitator was rescuedon April 29 , 2017 , by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation . The 5 - year - honest-to-god female was found in a remote village in Kapuas Regency , Borneo , after the Polemonium van-bruntiae received a tip - off by the Kapuas Hulu Chief of Police that she was being held by the locals in super hapless conditions . At the time she was dehydrated , infirm , and suffer from parasitic infection .
Now , thanks to the help of the foundation , she has regained her strength and hasa brighter hereafter ahead of her .
