World's first ever white Iberian Lynx caught on camera

In a discovery straight out of legend, a young wildlife photographer in southern Spain has captured jaw-dropping footage of a pure white Iberian lynx — the first ever recorded sighting of its kind.

The beautiful big cat was filmed on October 22 in the mountains of Andalusia’s Jaén province by 29-year-old photographer Ángel Hidalgo, The New York Post reported.

The sighting has stunned conservationists and thrilled nature lovers worldwide.

Hidalgo, who works at a construction materials factory, spends his free time tracking wildlife through Spain’s remote hills.

A month ago, he set up a camera trap in the countryside — and when reviewing the footage, he spotted something extraordinary: a glowing, white shape.

“I thought it was a camera effect,” Hidalgo told National Geographic España. “And from then on, I dedicated myself to the search for the lynx. I’m still in shock.”

After weeks of fruitless searching, Hidalgo finally saw the creature in person.

“One ugly morning, after a night of rain, I was walking like so many other times, when suddenly I saw in the distance a white shape that seemed to radiate its own light,” he wrote on Instagram. 

His video shows the white lynx sitting calmly among the rocks.

Experts believe the lynx suffers from leucism, a rare genetic mutation that causes a partial or total loss of pigmentation — unlike albinism, which affects the eyes and skin. Despite its dazzling beauty, conservationists warn that the lynx’s bright coat may make it more visible to predators and poachers.

To protect the animal, the exact location of the sighting is being kept secret, as illegal hunting remains one of the top threats to the Iberian lynx.