Spanish amateur wildlife photographer captures images of Iberian lynx with leucism

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Angel Hidalgo, a Spanish amateur wildlife photographer, captured images of an Iberian lynx with leucism.

Leucism is a genetic mutation that results in a partial or complete loss of skin pigmentation — though, unlike albinism, it does not affect the eyes.

Hidalgo described the lynx as "the white ghost of the Mediterranean forest." He made his remarkable discovery while reviewing footage from one of his camera traps hidden deep within the mountains of Jaen, southern Spain.

According to local outlet Ahora Jaen, this unprecedented sighting occurred on Oct. 22 in the province of Jaen.

The precise location where this Lynx pardinus was filmed in the wild remains undisclosed, as the animal—lacking a tracking collar—was clearly not part of a monitored group.

Despite extensive conservation efforts by Spain and Portugal, the Iberian lynx is still classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Spain’s Ecological Transition Ministry estimated the species’ population at over 2,000 individuals in 2023, distributed across the Iberian Peninsula.

The lynx has reestablished itself in areas such as Sierra Morena, the Montes de Toledo, the Guadiana basin shared by Spain and Portugal, and Donana.

It has also been successfully reintroduced into regions once thought unsuitable, including the Sierra Palentina.

Endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, this wild cat plays a vital ecological role in Mediterranean habitats as a top predator, primarily feeding on rabbits.

Its extinction would trigger a surge in rabbit populations, upsetting the delicate balance of the ecosystem due to the absence of competing predators.