Tiny Wild Cat Newly Identified as a Species Draws Curious Visitors in Bolivia – WTOP News
- On Thursday, scientists published a study in Current Biology identifying Leopardus tilcayo, the first new wild cat species described in more than 100 years, inhabiting the Bolivian Yungas cloud forest where the Andes Mountains meet the Amazon.
- The discovery story began around 2016 when a local man found a tiny cat near La Paz, later bringing it to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary where biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz first examined it.
- Genetic analysis of 38 individuals revealed L. tilcayo split from its lineage roughly 1.4 million years ago during the Early Pleistocene; the cat weighs three to four pounds and measures 18 inches .
- Sanctuary co-founder Marcelo Levy noted the species designation has raised awareness about protecting wild cats in Bolivia, saying "Tigrino has become, in just a few days, an ambassador for conservation."
- With this discovery, scientists have now described five distinct species of tiger cat, demonstrating the natural world still holds mysteries yet to be uncovered in remote ecosystems.
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47 Articles
Scientific analysis revealed that a young cat raised by a Bolivian family for years was not what I thought it was, after his face was confused by researchers before the tests led them to a rare truth.
After the discovery of the tilcayo, a new species of wild feline, increased visits to the sanctuary where one of the few known specimens lives, although the animal avoids contact with people
Numerous visitors have arrived at the sanctuary where he lives in the hope of seeing it, but few do.He is extremely sensitive to the presence of people, and his caregivers avoid exposing him to the public so as not to cause stress.
The scientific discovery took place in the Yungas de La Paz and was led by Bolivian biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz. In the Facebook group Backpackers and Travelers Bolivia circulates a publication accompanied by hashtags #peru and #biodiversity that points out: “Don’t be fooled by Tilcayo originated in Peru.” The post includes an image generated with artificial intelligence (IA) that shows the cat with the clothing of the Peruvian football te…
For the first time in a century, a new species of cat has been discovered
The small feline inhabits the cloudy forests of the Yungas and was identified as a distinct species after genetic analysis.
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