It is not every day that you spot a white ghost in the Spanish countryside of Jaén, especially one with fur and whiskers.
But that is exactly what happened when an amateur photographer stumbled upon a white Iberian lynx near Jaén. Locals are already calling her the “white ghost of the Mediterranean forest”.
A photographer with patience (and a lot of it!)
Ángel Hidalgo first caught a glimpse of the pale lynx on one of his camera traps. The footage was only a few seconds long, but it showed something odd, a lynx with a white coat and dark spots instead of the usual golden brown. Naturally, curiosity took over.
From that moment, Hidalgo spent weeks camping out in the area, often without luck. “I nearly gave up several times,” he said. Then, one damp morning after a night of rain, he finally got his shot. “When I saw her with her white fur and those bright eyes, I froze. I thought I was seeing things.”
White ghost of Jaén: Mystery cat’s identity
The images spread quickly online, but it turns out the lynx was not a total mystery. Researchers recognised her as a female named Satureja, born in 2021. She is part of a closely monitored group under the LIFE Lynx-Connect conservation project.
According to project coordinator Javier Salcedo, Satureja looked perfectly normal at birth. At some point, though, her colouring began to change. The good news is she seems unfazed by it. “She eats well, hunts well, and has raised several litters,” Salcedo said. In other words, she is not letting a new look slow her down.
Not an albino, just different
Scientists say Satureja is not albino and not suffering from leucism either. Both conditions cause pigment loss, but hers seems to be something else. “We think it could be linked to environmental factors,” Salcedo explained. “Perhaps a sensitivity to something in her surroundings.”
This is not even the first time something like this has happened. Years ago, researchers tracked another female from the same area whose fur turned white, then later returned to brown.
A success story for the species
The appearance of Satureja comes at a good time for her kind. The Iberian lynx, once close to extinction, has made a strong comeback in Spain and Portugal. Conservation work has been so successful that the species has been moved from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the global list of threatened animals.
