Scientists Find First New Cat in a Century

scienceSep 23, 2026·379 words·3 min read

Scientists have identified a small wild cat from the cloud forests of Bolivia as a previously unknown species, the first new living feline formally described in more than a century. The animal, given the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo after the name used by local communities, lives in the mountainous Yungas region. Measuring about 46 centimetres long and weighing about 1.4 kilograms, it is smaller than the average house cat, with light brown fur, short rounded ears and irregular, leopard-like rosettes.

A local person found the cat near the forest and thought it was a pet kitten. But it did not behave like a house cat, so it was sent to a wildlife sanctuary, a safe place for animals. There, a biologist called Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz saw that it looked different from other small spotted cats. Her team studied the DNA of 38 cats. DNA is the code inside every living thing. They found that this cat is a separate species.

Scientists still know very little about the new cat. One researcher said it "was hiding because nobody was looking". Only one living cat is confirmed: a 10-year-old male called Tigrino. Researchers believe more of these cats live in the wild. Experts may now list the cat as endangered, because its forests are being cut down and burned.

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