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Scientists have identified a new species of wild cat in Bolivia's Yungas region near La Paz, marking the first discovery of its kind in over 100 years. Named Leopardus tilcayo or the Tilcayo tiger cat due to locals' reports and genetic testing, this small feline with distinctive leopard-like spots was initially mistaken for a house cat by local residents. The research team, led by biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, emphasizes that while the species is currently vulnerable, it could be at greater risk of extinction due to its limited population.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Scientists have discovered a new species of wild cat for the first time in more than a century, a Bolivian researcher told AFP on Thursday.
asserted
researcher → discover → Thursday
The Tilcayo tiger cat, a small feline with a spotted, leopard-like coat, was identified in the mountainous Yungas region near the capital, La Paz.
asserted
cat → identify → capital
Locals 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.
asserted
that → see → them
The nickname "tilcayo" given to the animal by locals inspired its new scientific designation: Leopardus tilcayo.
asserted
nickname → give → designation
Nogales-Ascarrunz lauded the discovery as a "remarkable event, because a new wild cat species hasn't been described in 100 years."
The cat is the first feline discovered since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923.
asserted
cat → laud → 1923
The tilcayo is slightly smaller than a domestic cat, measuring around 18 inches, with rounded ears.
asserted
tilcayo → measure → ears
A pair of tilcayos -- the only such creatures found so far -- have undergone whole genome sequencing, Nogales-Ascarrunz said, referring to a type of in-depth genetic testing.
asserted
Ascarrunz → find → testing
A male tilcayo is living at an animal shelter in Yungas after it was handed over by a family who had taken it in.
asserted
who → live → it
A female was rescued and released into the wild after being attacked by locals.
asserted
female → rescue → locals
Research on the species was published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology, capping off research that scientists began in 2021.
"So far, it's only been detected in Bolivia" and not "anywhere else on the planet," Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
asserted
Ascarrunz → publish → planet
She said the creatures were classified as vulnerable to extinction, but their small numbers meant they could soon be considered "at much greater risk" of dying out.
uncertain
they → say → risk
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