Scientists have identified a new species of wild cat in Bolivia, more than a century after the last new feline species was discovered.
The small cat, named the Tilcayo tiger cat and scientifically classified as Leopardus tilcayo, was identified in the mountainous Yungas region near Bolivia’s capital, La Paz.
Biologist and National Geographic explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, who was part of the research team, said the discovery was made after scientists studied the animals and conducted whole-genome sequencing on a male and female.
“Remarkable event, because a new wild cat species hasn’t been described in 100 years,” Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
The Tilcayo tiger cat is slightly smaller than a domestic cat, measuring about 45 centimetres, and has rounded ears and a spotted, leopard-like coat.
Local residents had previously mistaken the animals for ordinary domestic cats. The name “tilcayo” was given to the animal by locals and later used for its scientific designation.
The discovery makes the Tilcayo the first new feline species identified since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923.
Scientists began researching the species in 2021, with their findings published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
Only two Tilcayos have been identified so far. A male is being kept at an animal shelter in Yungas after a family that had taken it in handed it over, while a female was rescued and released into the wild after being attacked by local residents.
“So far, it’s only been detected in Bolivia” and not “anywhere else on the planet,” Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
She said the species had been classified as vulnerable to extinction, but warned that its small known population could put it “at much greater risk” of dying out.
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