Found in Serra dos Órgãos National Park, Brazil, this male cougar, also known as a puma, was photographed back in 2013. Since that day, the cougar was never seen again.

The image was held from public eye due to it being extremely controversial. A cougar like this has never been spotted before and there is a shortage of information on it. However, the image has since resurfaced and researchers can find out more about this rare animal.

Why is it White?

Being all white is definitely not normal for cougars. It is caused by a rare condition called leucism. This condition results in the loss of some pigmentation of the animal. Even though plenty of other big cats have been spotted with leucism, this is the first time a leucitic cougar ever has been.

Some leucitic animals only have patches of their body white, and others have a more pale or blonde color. This cougar is white from top to bottom—making it even rarer.

The Dangers This Poses

The cougar might look beautiful, but there are many downsides to having no pigmentation. Due to the bright fur, the cougar is unable to camouflage itself, which reveals its location to prey.

Had the cougar lived in grasslands or plains, it would have had a hard time tracking down prey. In this case, the cougar is located in the forest, so it’s not as big of a problem.

A Result of Inbreeding

There have been concerns raised that leucism might be a cause of inbreeding. Because the Atlantic Forest is shrinking, populations of cougars are getting split up.

Inbreeding can result in many dangers such as genetic disorders, leucism included. However, this is the only case of a white cougar being spotted. Inbreeding is likely not the cause of leucism, thankfully!

Never Seen Again

After making an appearance once, researchers hoped that they would be able to find the cougar once more. However, their hidden camera traps scattered around the forest were never able to capture it again.

Scientists are constantly researching this condition to find out what causes it and why it’s even rarer in cougars than other animals. Chances are that another white cougar will not appear for a very long time. This was the first one ever spotted and might well be the last.

(First record of leucism in puma from Serra dos Órgãos National Park, Brazil – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Puma-leucism_fig1_330715822)