A rare and haunting figure has appeared in the wilds of southern Spain: the first known white Iberian lynx. The animal, filmed and photographed by 29-year-old amateur wildlife photographer Ángel Hidalgo in the mountains of Jaén, is a genetic anomaly that has stunned conservationists and photographers alike.

Hidalgo, who works at a construction materials factory by day, discovered the extraordinary feline while reviewing footage from one of his camera traps, placed deep within the Andalusian forest, Euronews reports.

The lynx is considered one of the world’s most endangered big cats.

A Discovery Months in the Making

Hidalgo first thought the pale creature caught on camera was a glitch.

“I thought it was a camera effect,” he told National Geographic España.

But the mystery consumed him. He returned to the mountains repeatedly, sometimes near the point of giving up. Then, one misty morning after rainfall, he spotted a white shape in the distance.

“It seemed to radiate its own light,” Hidalgo said.

Standing before him was a young lynx covered in snow-white fur, its golden eyes steady and unafraid. Hidalgo described the encounter as “unforgettable,” calling the animal “the white ghost of the Mediterranean forest.”

His images — verified by the Lynx Project — mark the first time a leucistic Iberian lynx has been documented in the wild, The Olive Press reports.

Conservation programs have since boosted the Iberian lynx population above 2,000.

A Rare Genetic Marvel

The lynx’s striking color comes from leucism, a rare genetic condition that causes a partial or total loss of pigmentation while leaving the eyes unaffected, Firstpost reports. Unlike albinism, leucism does not result in red or blue eyes but in normal pigmentation of the irises. The condition has been recorded in other species, but never before in *Lynx pardinus*, a cat found only on the Iberian Peninsula.

Experts say this extraordinary find is a sign of a healthy, genetically diverse population. Just two decades ago, the Iberian lynx was on the brink of extinction, with fewer than 100 individuals left. Thanks to reintroduction programs in Spain and Portugal, the population surpassed 2,000 in 2023, according to Euronews. The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition recently reported around 2,400 individuals roaming across rewilded areas from Sierra Morena to Doñana National Park.

Photo: Facebook / Lince Ibérico (Lynx pardinus) S.O.S.

The lynx’s unusual color comes from a genetic condition called leucism.

Conservation in Motion

For conservationists, the white lynx’s existence carries symbolic weight.

“Meeting this feline made me think about the importance of nature and conservation,” Hidalgo said in a post on Instagram.

He refuses to reveal the lynx’s exact location, citing fears of poaching, which continues to threaten the species.

The Iberian lynx, smaller than its Eurasian cousin, is a keystone predator whose diet of rabbits helps maintain balance in Mediterranean ecosystems. Its recovery has become one of Europe’s greatest conservation success stories. The discovery of a white individual — once thought mythical — reinforces that story, a reminder that even after decades of loss, the wild can still surprise us.