New Wild Cat Species Identified in Bolivia After More Than a Century - Leopardus tilcayo - video Dailymotion

Nosy Guy

A diminutive wild cat from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forest has been identified as a new species, marking the first time a new living cat species has been formally named and described in more than a century.  The Tilcayo tiger cat (Leopardus tilcayo) measures about 46cm long and weighs around 1.4kg. Locals mistook it for a domestic cat. The discovery by biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz and team was published in Current Biology in September 2026. The species is found only in Bolivia and is considered vulnerable to extinction.

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00:00For the first time in over 100 years, scientists have discovered a brand new species of wildcat.

00:07Meet the Tilkayo tiger cat. Its scientific name is Laportus tilkayo.

00:14It was found hiding in plain sight in Bolivia's youngest cloud forests, a misty mountain region near La Paz.

00:21Locals actually thought it was just a regular house cat.

00:24But it is not. It is smaller than your house cat.

00:28Only about 18 inches long, weighing just 3 pounds, with light brown fur and dark leopard-like rosettes.

00:36The discovery was led by Bolivian biologist and National Geographic explorer Paula Nogales-Oscarunes.

00:43Her team studied the cat since 2021.

00:46They ran full genome sequencing on two individuals, one rescued from a family that kept it as a pet, and

00:53confirmed it is genetically unique.

00:55The research was just published in the journal Current Biology.

00:59It is the first living cat species newly described since 1923.

01:05Right now, the Tilkayo is only found in Bolivia, nowhere else on Earth, and scientists already list it as vulnerable

01:12to extinction.

01:12A tiny wildcat, hidden in the clouds for centuries, and we only just met it.

01:19See you in this video.

New Wild Cat Species Identified in Bolivia After More Than a Century - Leopardus tilcayo

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