World's first ‘white ghost' leucistic Iberian lynx captured on camera: watch

In the history of wildlife conservation, an amateur Spanish photographer has captured the first-ever sight of a leucistic Iberian lynx commonly known as “white ghost” marking both a genetic marvel and a testament to the species' remarkable recovery from brink of extinction.

On October 22, Ángel Hidalgo caught the rare sight of this amazing species while examining footage from one of his camera traps in the mountains of Jaén, southern Spain.

In the recorded video, the lynx can be seen in its striking pale cream coat and normally pigmented eyes showing a rare genetic condition “leucism.”

This condition causes a partial loss of pigmentation but on contrary to albinism preserves normal eye color and vision.

Hidalgo shared his experience: “I’ve been setting up cameras for years with many failed attempts and long hours of work. But this time, nature gave me something truly unique.”

With this remarkable discovery, a sense of excitement has been sparked in the conservation community.

The Iberian lynx was on the verge of extinction just two decades ago with less than 100 individuals left.

Intensive conservation efforts have been made since then including breeding programs and restoring habitat.

By 2023, the population rebounded to over 2,000 individuals leading the International Union of Conservation of Nature to labelled the species as “vulnerable” from “endangered” in 2024.