Scientists identify Bolivia’s tilcayo as a new wild cat species

Genetic analysis has confirmed that a small, leopard-patterned feline found in Bolivia’s Yungas forest is a previously unknown species. Researchers named it Leopardus tilcayo after the local name “tilcayo,” marking the first reported discovery of a new wild cat species in a century, according to DW.

Scientists have identified a small wild cat in Bolivia as a previously unknown species, according to DW. Local communities call the animal “tilcayo,” a name that inspired its scientific designation, Leopardus tilcayo.

The feline was found in Bolivia’s Yungas forest, a remote area on the eastern slope of the Andes. It is about 18 inches (46 centimeters) long and weighs roughly 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms), making it smaller than an average domestic cat. Its light-brown fur is marked with irregular rosettes, biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz told National Geographic, as reported by DW.

Nogales-Ascarrunz first encountered the animal in 2016 after a local wildlife sanctuary contacted her about what staff described as a “weird cat.” She photographed it extensively, but only later concluded that it differed from known feline species. The research was published this week in the journal Current Biology.

Working with geneticist Eduardo Eizirik and Jonas Lescroart of the University of Antwerp, Nogales-Ascarrunz used genetic analysis to place the animal within the cat family tree. DW reported that a pair of tilcayos has undergone whole-genome sequencing and that these are the only individuals of the species found so far.

Nogales-Ascarrunz described the discovery as remarkable because no new wild cat species had been described in 100 years. The previous feline species discovery cited by the researchers was the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923.

The species has so far been detected only in Bolivia, Nogales-Ascarrunz said. Eizirik said the finding illustrates that many species may remain undiscovered and could disappear before scientists identify them.