World's first-ever white Iberian Lynx spotted in Spain
World's first-ever white Iberian Lynx spotted in Spain
Digital Desk: The world's first white Iberian lynx appears to have been photographed by a Spanish photographer, a discovery that has enthralled both wildlife experts and enthusiasts.
Photographed in the southern Spanish mountain region of Jaen, home to one of the rarest wild cat species in the world, the remarkable feline was determined to be leucistic rather than albino.
Nature photographer Angel Hidalgo captured the footage, which shows a lynx with a remarkably pale, cream-white coat and other typical features, including bright eyes, dark ear tufts, and the species' characteristic facial ruff.
To protect the animal, whose appearance has already gone viral online, the precise location of the sighting has been kept under wraps.
According to Euro Weekly, experts who examined the photos verified that the animal has leucism, a rare genetic disorder that results in a partial loss of pigmentation as opposed to albinism, which causes a total lack of color and frequently impairs vision.
By 2002, the Iberian lynx population had fallen to two isolated breeding populations after being on the verge of extinction. By 2015, there were about 400 adult lynxes reported, and by 2025, there were about 2,000.
