Rare white monkey spotted in the Philippines

A rare white monkey in Sultan Kudarat, Philippines, has recently gained attention after photos and videos of the animal began circulating on social media.

As an immediate measure to protect the animal, the town mayor has temporarily closed the area where it has been frequently spotted.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region XII and the local government are also taking steps to safeguard the monkey and its natural habitat.

Monkey believed to have rare pigmentation anomaly

The white monkey is believed to be a Philippine long-tailed macaque.

According to a resident, it has frequently roamed the area since 2016.

Due to its pale colouring, the monkey was initially presumed to have albinism.

However, a field validation by the DENR XII Composite Monitoring Team revealed that the macaque has brown eyes.

This finding suggested leucism (partial loss of pigmentation) or another pigmentation condition.

Even so, scientific verification by wildlife experts is still re...