September 17, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\nLocals who saw the creature in the Bolivian Andes had mistaken it for an ordinary house cat, said biologist and National Geographic explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, who was part of the research team that studied them.<\/p>\n
The nickname \u201ctilcayo\u201d given to the animal by locals inspired its new scientific designation: Leopardus tilcayo.<\/p>\n
Nogales-Ascarrunz lauded the discovery as a \u201cremarkable event, because a new wild cat species hasn\u2019t been described in 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cat is the first new feline discovered since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923.<\/p>\n
The tilcayo is slightly smaller than a domestic cat, measuring around 45 centimetres, with rounded ears.<\/p>\n
A pair of tilcayos \u2014 the only such creatures found so far \u2014 have undergone whole genome sequencing, Nogales-Ascarrunz said, referring to a type of in-depth genetic testing.<\/p>\n
A male tilcayo is living at an animal shelter in Yungas, after it was handed over by a family who had taken in the creature.<\/p>\n
A female was rescued and released into the wild after being attacked by locals.<\/p>\n
Research on the species was published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology, capping off research that scientists began in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, it\u2019s only been detected in Bolivia\u201d and not \u201canywhere else on the planet,\u201d Nogales-Ascarrunz said.<\/p>\n
She said the creatures were classified as vulnerable to extinction, but their small numbers meant they could soon be considered \u201cat much greater risk\u201d of dying out.<\/p>\n