CENTRAL KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA — An incredibly rare female albino orangutan has been freed from captivity by conservationists after she was captured by villagers in Indonesia and held for two days. <br /> <br />The 5-year-old orangutan was found on April 27, imprisoned in a cage in a remote district of central Kalimantan, the island also known as Borneo. <br /> <br />After receiving a tip-off, workers from The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation arrived at the village to find the young orangutan weak, dehydrated and infected with worms. <br /> <br />That dried blood on her nose? The conservationists say it appears she was injured as she fought back during her capture. <br /> <br />Albinos of any species are rare. And as orangutans are endangered, finding a white-haired, blue-eyed orangutan is a rare moment indeed. <br /> <br />Luckily for this young female, her future looks bright. She’s being nursed back to health at the Foundation’s rehabilitation centre, along with some 500 other orangutans. <br /> <br />According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species is critically endangered. <br /> <br />Around 100,000 orangutans thought to still live in Kalimantan’s forests which span areas in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia <br /> <br />But that already low number declining. Between 1950 and 2010, the Kalimantan orangutan population shrank by 60%. <br /> <br />And due to continuing deforestation to make way for palm oil and rubber plantations, the number is forecast to fall a further 22% between 2010 and 2025. <br /> <br />If that isn’t troubling enough, the docile and majestic creatures are also killed by local people who regard them as pests.
