Scientists have discovered a new species of wildcat named Leopardus tilcayo. This exceptionally tiny, tiger-looking cat was discovered in Yungas cloud forests of Bolivia. The discovery, published in journal Current Biology marks the first such discovery since 1923, when the Uruguayan pampas cat was described.
How did scientists discover a new cat species?
The story of this new specie’s discovery is heartwarming. A local Bolivian man found an orphaned little kitten on the side of the road. He raised it for a year. Mistaking it as a domestic cat, he eventually hoped that the owners would come looking for it. When its wild nature became obvious, the man transferred it to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary.
Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic Explorer, noticed that the cat’s fur was unique in the patterns it exhibited. The rosette patterns did not match any reference images of known tiger cats. Therefore, an international team of scientists employed highly sophisticated technique of whole-genome sequencing to compare the cat’s DNA with that of 38 known Leopardus cats and museum specimens. The results revealed that this mysterious cat belonged to a completely separate evolutionary lineage. Its genetic lineage diverged from tiger cats approximately 1.4 million years ago.
New cat alert! A call from a wildlife sanctuary about a "weird cat" has led to the first new cat species discovered in over 100 years in Bolivia’s Yungas forest ecoregion. Learn more about this feline surprise: https://t.co/crffXvPqH4 pic.twitter.com/USo7rI3Y5q
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) September 17, 2026
What does the cat look like?
The cat is roughly 18 inches long and weighs only 1.4 kg. Its size is smaller than the average domesticated house cat. Its coat is light brown in color and marked with large irregularly shaped leopard-like rosettes. It has a scrunched-up adorable face, which makes it look like a cross between a leopard and a baby tiger. Its ears are small and round, while its eyes feature hues of brown and black.
Presently, scientists have very little information about the cat’s lifestyle and behavior. Data from camera traps shows that this species is mainly nocturnal. Its fecal samples suggest that it mostly preys on small rats. Scientists also note that its native habitat is in the high humidity cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes. The dense canopy cover in the region enables the cat’s rosette-covered fur to serve as the ideal camouflage.
Small wild cats are often overlooked in scientific research since they mostly stay out of sight. Moreover, tiger cats in South America have historically been grouped under a single species Leopardus tigrinus since all of them bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. Researchers call them “cryptic species” because of this trait. Scientists predict that advanced genomic methods used to discover this species will also help them discover more hidden feline species in the world.
Scientists have also raised conservation concerns since Bolivian Yungas cloud forests are facing extensive deforestation and uncontrollable wildfires. Therefore, Tilcayo may be soon be classified as an endangered specie.
