In the Jaén mountain ranges in southern Spain, amateur photographer Ángel Hidalgo captured an Iberian lynx with leucism in the wild – a rare genetic anomaly that causes a partial or complete absence of skin pigmentation. This case confirms the success of programs to restore the population of Lynx pardinus, which has been recovering on the Iberian Peninsula since 2011, when the species was on the verge of extinction. This is reported by Euro News, writes UNN.
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According to Hidalgo, the animal was captured without a tracking collar, confirming its presence in the wild.
"The white ghost of the Mediterranean forest"
According to the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition, in 2023, the number of Iberian lynxes exceeded 2,000 individuals, distributed across Spain and Portugal. They inhabit Sierra Morena, the Toledo Mountains, the Spanish-Portuguese basin of the Guadiana and Doñana rivers, as well as reintroduction areas such as Sierra Palentina – places where the existence of the species was unthinkable a few years ago.
Despite the successes, the Iberian lynx remains a vulnerable species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the case of the white individual has become an important signal of the effectiveness of efforts to preserve this unique representative of the Mediterranean fauna.