Bolivia Identifies New Tilcayo Wild Cat Species
Saturday, September 26, 2026157 words2 minutes1463 reads
A small wild cat from Bolivia has been formally identified as a new species, Leopardus tilcayo. People in the region already used the name tilcayo. The cat lives in the wet Yungas cloud forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes. One male at a wildlife refuge weighs about 1.4 kilograms and is smaller than an average house cat.
The cat is light brown with dark, uneven rosettes, or ring-like spots. Its long tail and small, rounded ears also caught scientists' attention. For years, researchers thought the animal belonged to another tiger cat species. Looking alike, however, does not prove that animals are the same species.
A research team compared complete genomes from 38 Leopardus cats, including eight museum specimens. The genetic evidence showed that the tilcayo has its own evolutionary history. It is the first newly described living cat species in more than a century, but much about its wild population, range, and behavior remains unknown.
