Scientists have identified a new species of wild cat in Bolivia, marking the first discovery of a new feline species in more than a century.
The Tilcayo tiger cat, a small feline with a spotted, leopard-like coat, 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 local residents who encountered the animal in the Bolivian Andes had initially mistaken it for an ordinary domestic cat.
The animal’s local nickname, “tilcayo”, inspired its scientific name, Leopardus tilcayo.
Nogales-Ascarrunz described the discovery as a “remarkable event, because a new wild cat species hasn’t been described in 100 years.”
The tilcayo is the first new feline species identified since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923.
Slightly smaller than a domestic cat, the tilcayo measures about 45 centimetres and has rounded ears.
Only two tilcayos have been identified so far, with both undergoing whole-genome sequencing, a detailed form of genetic testing, Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
A male tilcayo is currently living at an animal shelter in Yungas after being handed over by a family that had taken in the animal.
A female was rescued and later released into the wild after being attacked by local residents.
The research was published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology, concluding research that began in 2021.
“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 population could mean it may soon be considered “at much greater risk” of dying out.
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