An extremely rare, blue-eyed, albino orangutan rescued from a cage in Borneo could soon be released back into the wild.
On April 29, officials at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) received a tip from the local police chief that some villagers in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province were holding a Bornean orangutan captive. When the rescue team arrived at the Tanggirang village they discovered that instead of the signature orange-reddish brown hair, the great ape had white hair, a paler skin color, and blue eyes. The mammal was also very sensitive to light.
A preliminary examination by medical experts revealed that the great ape is an extremely rare albino orangutan. This is the first such specimen encountered by the non-profit since it was founded to conserve the endangered Bornean orangutan and its habitat 25 years ago. The five-year-old female, who was in captivity for two days before being rescued, is currently undergoing health tests at the foundation’s rehabilitation center.
The rescuers noticed there was dried blood around the creature’s nose, which they believe occurred when the ape was fighting villagers to be freed.
Officials say they will decide on whether to release the great ape back into the wild or keep her at the center, which currently houses almost 750 orangutans, once they are assured she is healthy.
The female orangutan might be eventually released back into the jungle.
It normally takes up to eight years to teach a captive orangutan to find its own food and survive independently — but this orangutan may be released much more quickly than that.
"She is showing some wild behaviour," said the foundation's Nico Hermanu. "We think she may be able to return to the wild."
her hair, eye, and skin color is paler than normal, and she is also sensitive to light (image: Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation)
"Because of her hair colour and eye colour, and her sensitivity to light we estimate that she is albino," said Mr Hermanu.
He said the group was not told why the albino orangutan had been taken by locals. "Our information is that she had been captured only two days earlier," said Mr Hermanu.
I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to
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understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia.
I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine.
I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan"
I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy
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