Alba (orangutan)

Alba is a female Bornean orangutan notable for being the only known orangutan with albinism. After having been illegally kept as a pet, she was rescued and rehabilitated by Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) before being released into the wild.

Discovery

Alba was first discovered by in April 2017 in a village in the Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, following tips by local police. It was estimated she was around five years old at the time. She was dehydrated, underweight, and suffering from an infection.[1][2]

In the 25 years the organization had been operating at that point, she was the only instance of an albino orangutan they had ever seen, and she is the only known documented case of the condition in orangutans.[3][4][5]

Due to her albinism, she has blue eyes and white hair and skin. It also caused her to have weaker-than normal vision and hearing, as well as a sensitivity to light.[5][6]

Rehabilitation

In May 2017, the organization held an online contest to choose a name for the orangutan. Alba was chosen, as it meant "white" in Latin and "dawn" in Spanish.[7][3][8]

Upon Alba's recovery, BOS researched into other cases of great apes with albinism, as they were unsure if Alba's disabilities would render her unable to be released.[8] While at BOS, she bonded with Kika, another female orangutan.[7]

Alba was featured in the documentary series Orangutan Jungle School.[9][10]

Release

On December 18th, 2018, after nearly two years of rehabilitation, Alba was released into Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park alongside Kika.[1][7][11]

Alba was spotted in 2020.[12][5][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 G, Amanda (2018-01-19). "Albino Alba and Friend Kika Released to the Wild!". Orangutan Outreach. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  2. 1 2 "World's Only Living Albino Orangutan Spotted More Than a Year After Her Release Into the Wild". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2020-03-17. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  3. 1 2 "Albino orangutan named 'Alba' after global appeal". Archived from the original on 2025-11-03. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  4. ↑ "World's Only Known Albino Orangutan Is Getting Her Own Private Island - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  5. 1 2 3 Katz, Brigit. "The Only Known Albino Orangutan Is Doing Great After Her Release to the Wild". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  6. ↑ "Alba, the world's only albino orangutan, able to return to the wild". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  7. 1 2 3 Chappell, Bill (2018-12-21). "Alba The Albino Orangutan Is Now Free, Living In The Trees Again". NPR. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  8. 1 2 "Public gives rare Indonesian albino orangutan surprisingly normal name". ABC News. 2017-05-16. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  9. ↑ Channel 4 Entertainment (2018-09-02). Will World's 1st Albino Orangutan Be Accepted By the Others? | Orangutan Jungle School. Retrieved 2026-06-24 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Etherden, Sarah (2019-11-11). "Prepare for a Wild Ride as Love Nature's Highest-Rated Series Orangutan Jungle School Swings into Season Two". Blue Ant Media. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  11. ↑ "Rare albino orangutan 'Alba' returns to the wild". Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  12. ↑ McGuire, Jessie (2020-02-28). "An Update on Alba". Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.