{"id":776548,"date":"2026-09-20T06:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T06:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/776548\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T06:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T06:52:18","slug":"a-man-thought-hed-found-a-stray-kitten-it-turned-out-to-be-a-new-species-of-wild-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/776548\/","title":{"rendered":"A man thought he\u2019d found a stray kitten. It turned out to be a new species of wild cat"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scientists have identified a new tiger cat species in the cloud forest region of Bolivia<\/a>, marking the first discovery of a living feline in over a century.<\/p>\n

The discovery could rewrite the evolutionary history of small South American cats<\/a> and pose new challenges for their conservation.<\/p>\n

South American cats, wild felines smaller than housecats <\/a>known as tigrillos, were considered to be one species. But a new analysis of genome samples and museum specimens <\/a>reveals that they comprise five distinct species.<\/p>\n

One of the five species, named Leopardus tilcayo, was found in Yungas, the eastern slope of the Andes<\/a> where the mountain range meets the Amazon basin<\/a> in Bolivia<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"AA Leopardus tilcayo cat, a newly identified species (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Measuring at 45-50cm long, with a tail of 10in, L tilcayo is smaller than an average housecat, according to a study detailing the discovery published in the journal Current Biology.<\/p>\n

The tiger cat weighs just 1.4-2kg.<\/p>\n

A subspecies, called Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo, was also found in the Yungas of Peru<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Its name is inspired by a region of the Inca Empire where the feline is currently located.<\/p>\n

In spite of their similar appearances, tigrillos belong to different evolutionary lineages.<\/p>\n

Researchers made the discovery after a scitneist who was volunteering at the sanctuary noticed the cat looked unusual.<\/p>\n

It had been found in the forest by a local resident, who believed it was a domestic kitten, but it soon it became clear that it did not behave like a house cat. According to NBC News<\/a>, the man had fed the animal noodles, rice and eggs, before realising it was wild and that he could not take care of it – so he brought it to the sanctuary. <\/p>\n

Scientists studied genomes collected from 38 felines in different countries across South America<\/a>. The genetic data of at least eight cats was obtained from their specimens preserved in museums.<\/p>\n

\"LeopardusLeopardus tilcayo is the only known individual of the newly identified species (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Scientists compared the genomes with genetic material obtained from animals in other regions of South America.<\/p>\n

This allowed them to reconstruct with greater precision the evolutionary relationships between the different lineages. <\/p>\n

The major finding from the study was the recognition of Leopardus tilcayo as a separate species. <\/p>\n

Recognising that tiger cats do not correspond to a single species carries important consequences for their conservation, researchers say.<\/p>\n

The felines face increasing threats, including the loss and fragmentation of their habitats, as well as hunting and diseases transmitted by domestic animals.<\/p>\n

\"NationalNational Geographic explorer Paola Nogales Ascarrunz led the study that identified Leopardus tilcayo as a new species (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Some of the newly identified species also inhabit ecosystems that may be significantly affected by climate change.<\/p>\n

The populations of these cats suffer from low genetic diversity, meaning their ability to respond to environmental changes may be limited.<\/p>\n

In light of the latest findings, it is no longer enough to address the conservation of the tiny cats as if they are a single species, researchers say.<\/p>\n

Each lineage requires focused studies on its distribution, genetic diversity, threats, and conservation needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAltogether, our results clarify the evolutionary history of a complex radiation of wild cats, reveal novel taxa, and serve as a basis for conservation planning on behalf of these elusive wild cats,\u201d they said in the study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-776548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}