A protection group rescued a Bornean albino orangutan from captivity in a village in the Indonesian part of Borneo island. Albino orangutan is rare in Borneo, and villagers keep the primate in a cage.
The conservationist group, Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), released the white-haired and blue-eyed orangutan from captivity as reported by The Jakarta Post. The group said that this is the first time they encountered a Bornean albino orangutan in 25 years of its history. The villagers of Tanggirang, Kapuas regency in Central Kalimantan admitted that they captured the orangutan last week on April 27 before the BOSF rescued the orangutan two days later.
The female five-year-old Bornean albino orangutan was dehydrated and during the rescue, the BOSF found a dried blood is shown beneath its nose as reported by The Daily Telegraph. The group believes the blood is the result of the struggle when the villagers tried to capture the orangutan.
BOSF CEO, Jamartin Sihite has confirmed the rescued orangutan is a Bornean albino orangutan after the medical team conducted a test on the orangutan. The albino orangutan is not a new species, but a genetic disorder inherited from its parent.
"Its eyes are very sensitive to light,” Sihite said confirming the genetic disorder in the Bornean albino orangutan . “There must be orangutans living in the forests from whom the albino orangutan inherited the disorder, for it is genetic."
Further medical examination showed the Bornean albino orangutan was suffering from the worm infection called helminthiasis, one of the parasitic worm. The primate is now under medical in the BOSF orangutan rehabilitation center in Nyaru Menteng, Central Kalimantan province of Indonesia. The veterinarians estimated the Bornean albino orangutan needs at least a month of rehabilitation before ready to release into the wild.
Orangutan, including the Bornean albino orangutan, is listed as the critically endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In Borneo, there are about 100,000 orangutans left from the 300,000 of the species that inhabited the region a half-century ago.
