A product used by consumers every single day is to blame for an ‘alien’ crawling through a plantation in Borneo, advocates claim.

When footage of the beast surfaced on the internet recently, online users speculated it was anything from an alien to a real world manifestation of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

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A normal and healthy looking sun bear pictured in captivity. Photo: Getty

The real explanation is far more tragic, says Sarawak Forestry Corporation, which has identified the creature as a sickly-looking sun bear.

A group on Facebook called Nature Talks Back says its emaciated state proves that wildlife in Borneo and other parts of the world is being sacrificed to harvest palm plantations.

They allege that large corporations who use the palm oil product shirk the responsibility of paying a premium for sustainably sourced oil and instead go for the cheaper stuff, which has potentially destructive impacts on wildlife.

Palm oil is used in a wide variety of everyday household products including shampoo, ready-made meals, yoghurt and sweet snack biscuits.

Below is the original video posted by the workers when they came across the animal.

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