South America17 September, 20263 min read
Scientists Identify Leopardus TILCAYO, First New Wild Feline Species in Over a Century in Bolivia
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Leopardus tilcayo identified as a new wild cat in Bolivia’s Yungas, first in a century. Identified via DNA analysis of museum specimens and living animals after local naming tilcayo.
57 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Brazil Police Kill Suspect After 13 Kindergarteners Held Hostage In Curitiba →
Bolivia’s new wild cat
Scientists have formally identified a new wild feline species in Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forest: Leopardus tilcayo, described as the first living feline species identified by scientists in over a century. The discovery traces back to 2016, when a Bolivian wildlife refuge contacted National Geographic biologist and explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz after a family took in the animal thinking it was a domestic cat. After about a year, the family realized the “cat” was wild, and the animal was later brought to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary after it was recognized as a wild animal.
Researchers then compared its genome with other Leopardus individuals preserved in museums, and an analysis of 38 complete genomes confirmed it belongs to a distinct lineage. The study published in Current Biology says Leopardus tilcayo would have diverged from other ocelots about 1.4 million years ago, and the discovery brings the number of species in this small-cat complex to five.
How it was found
Paola Nogales Ascarrunz told ABC News that when she first saw the animal, “it was really, really small and skinny and I couldn't believe like how small it was”. ABC News also reported that the tilcayo was initially kept as a family pet for a year before being brought to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary after the family recognized it as a wild animal. Al Jazeera described how a local man found a kitten alone near the forest, mistaking it for a stray domestic cat, and kept it with his family for about a year until 2016 when its wild instincts became impossible to ignore.
Al Jazeera said the refuge called in Nogales Ascarrunz after telling her they had found a “weird cat,” and it quoted her warning: “When you want to pet a wild animal, then you think the power of love is going to change the behaviour of this animal.” Al Jazeera added that researchers used a genetics collaboration spanning three countries and DNA pulled from century-old museum skulls to prove her suspicion about the cat’s identity.
Conservation stakes
Multiple outlets tied the new classification to conservation concerns, with ABC News saying the tilcayo is classified as vulnerable to extinction and could soon be considered “at much greater risk” of dying out. ABC News reported that the tilcayo is “slightly smaller than a domestic cat,” measuring around 18 inches, and that the only known tilcayo in captivity is a 10-year-old male at the sanctuary. CBC reported that the researchers analyzed DNA from 38 cats sampled across several South American countries, including eight museum specimens, and found tiger cats are five genetically distinct species.
CBC said the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list currently treats tiger cats as two “vulnerable” species with declining populations, and that the researchers have shared their findings with the IUCN for an upcoming review assessing the five lineages separately. CBC also said the Yungas faces pressure from deforestation, agricultural expansion, human-caused fires and mining, and that “Showing the general public that even in a flagship group such as cats … there are still new species to be discovered” could shape conservation attention.