Despite being captured by humans and facing a high risk of being spotted because of her fur colour, Alba still overcame the odds and successfully adapted back to life in the wild 💓✨ Alba is believed to be the only albino orangutan ever recorded in the wild. Her pale fur and blue eyes made her one of the rarest great apes on Earth. Albinism is caused by a rare genetic mutation that affects melanin production. In humans, the condition is estimated to occur in about 1 in 20,000 births, but among wild orangutans, the chances are believed to be far lower — which is why Alba astonished conservationists around the world. When she was rescued in 2017, Alba was dehydrated, weak, underweight, and suffering from parasites after reportedly being kept in captivity by humans. Many feared she would never survive in the wild because her bright colouring made her easier to spot in the rainforest. But Alba proved everyone wrong. After rehabilitation, Alba was released back into the Borneo rainforest in 2018. Monitoring teams later confirmed that she was climbing, foraging, building nests, and naturally adapting to life in the forest.
