He from the labyrinth…
He looks like he is about to teach me magic and the mysteries of the world. 😻
In the misty mountains of southern Spain, A rare and haunting figure has appeared: the first known white Iberian lynx — unlike any ever seen before. The animal, filmed and photographed by 29-year-old amateur wildlife photographer Angel Hidalgo in the mountains of Jaen, 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.
Hidalgo first thought the pale creature caught on camera was a glitch.
He said: I thought it was a camera effect.
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.
Hidalgo said: It seemed to radiate its own light.
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.
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. 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.
The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition recently reported around 2,400 individuals roaming across rewilded areas from Sierra Morena to “Donana National Park”.
For conservationists, the white lynx’s existence carries symbolic weight.
Hidalgo said: Meeting this feline made me think about the importance of nature and conservation.
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.
Some moments remind us how fragile nature is, and how much wonder we still have left to protect.
That is like the ancestors of cats and it doesn’t Even look like it hangs on our realm often and came through a fairy ring.
This is definitely a freaking mythical cryptid beauty 😍
