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| nationalgeographic.com |
I really got excited when scientists announced the discovery of a new wild cat species in Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests. The new kitty, named Leopardus tilcayo or the "Tilcayo,” as the indigenous people in the area call it, is the first new living cat species formally described in more than a century. The last living cat species identified and described by science before the Tilcayo was the Uruguayan pampas cat (Leopardus fasciatus), which was described in 1923.
Isn’t it amazing that it’s 2026 and we are still discovering new species of those we share the planet with? I would think that science has already studied every corner of the world, and then nature comes up with something new to surprise us.
This discovery shows how much remains unknown about our natural world. While the local people seem to have known the Tilcayo for generations, scientists know very little about the cat's behavior, diet, or how many of its kind are in the wild. Scientists have seen only one individual so far: the one at the sanctuary whom they called Tigrino.
Tilcayo is so small, it is even smaller than many household cats. No wonder the person who first saw Tigrino thought it was a lost kitten and brought it home. Weighing only around 1.4 kilograms, it has a light brown coat covered with distinctive rosette-shaped markings, giving it the appearance of a miniature leopard. And the eyes! So captivating, yet fierce and determined. They add so much to its charm and give the cat so much presence in a tiny package.
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| nationalgeographic.com |
Yes, the Tilcayo is incredibly cute, and with its kitten-like appearance, some people on social media have joked that they would love to have one as a pet. But according to the scientists who helped identify the species, that is exactly the wrong way to think about this beautiful animal.
Researchers led by Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz emphasize that the Tilcayo is a wild cat native to Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests and not a domesticated animal. In fact, the guy who found the kitty had to surrender it to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary because it didn’t behave like a house cat and remained, well, wild even after staying for months in their home. Unfortunately, they can’t release the animal in the wild because it has been around humans for so long.
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| nationalgeographic.com |
I fully support the call from Bolivian scientists to keep the Tilcayo where it belongs: in the wild. It does not belong in a living room, or in a palace of some filthy rich individual who thinks wild animals like the Tilcayo cat are commodities to own. I would appreciate it more knowing that this tiny cat is roaming freely through the mist-covered forests of Bolivia. Indeed, its future depends not on human ownership, but on conservation. The Yungas cloud forests are reportedly already under pressure from human activity, and protecting the Tilcayo ultimately means protecting the forest that sustains it.
If we truly love the Tilcayo, we should support efforts to preserve its habitat and ensure this newly discovered species remains a symbol of the wonders still on our planet.
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