Researchers have identified a new species of wild cat, the Tilcayo, in Bolivia's Yungas region.
Reader brief
Through the Reader lens: Researchers have formally named the Tilcayo, a small wild cat species found in Bolivia's cloud forests, after genetic analysis revealed it was distinct from other known tiger cats. The discovery, which marks the first new cat species named in over a century, confirms the animal has been known to local communities for generations. Scientists have expressed concerns regarding the species' conservation status due to habitat pressures in the Yungas region like deforestation and mining.
What to watch next
- IUCN assessment of the five tiger cat lineages
- Further population studies to determine the conservation status of the Tilcayo
- Habitat protection efforts in the Bolivian Yungas
What was said6
Attributed, verbatim. Every quote is checked against the article it came from. One that does not match is not shown.
Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz
4 quotes“It’s fur is light brown ... with irregularly shaped rosettes across its body”
In the article
…small, slender cat measures about 46 cm in length and weighs around 1.4 kg, making it smaller than an average domestic cat. It has light-brown fur, rounded ears and irregularly shaped rosettes across its body. “ It’s fur is light brown ... with irregularly shaped rosettes across its body ,” said Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic Explorer and co-author of the study, as reported by Reuters. How scientists identified the Tilcayo The discovery began when Nogales-Ascarrunz encountered an…
“I saw this cat, it was really, really small, and I couldn’t believe how small it was. I thought it was a kitten”
“If you look at the spots or the tail, they really don’t match”
“We really don’t know how many cats are still in the wild”
Jonas Lescroart
1 quote“We never expected this Bolivian tiger cat to be a separate species, and no one had ever proposed it as a different animal, subspecies or otherwise”
Eduardo Eizirik
1 quote“There are many undiscovered species out there in the world, and they are at risk of disappearing before we even discover them.”
Sources1
- [1]The Times of IndianeutralMeet Tilcayo: Tiny wild cat discovered in Bolivia's forests after more than a century