"The rarest and most elusive feline in Portugal", writes the photographer, also mentioning that "this is the only record" that he is aware of "of this animal in Portuguese territory without being from a 'camera trap' or [also known as] a trap photography".

Carlos Pontes also reports that he had already photographed one of them "about ten years ago, a specimen at night", which demonstrates the difficulty in obtaining a photo.


"I thought I had been incredibly lucky this year with two sightings during the day, one of which allowed me to see the animal for a few seconds. Until one day, the species that I never thought would come into view gave me indescribable pleasure as I was able to photograph it”.

In Portugal it is estimated that there are less than 100 of these wild cats in existence.