Tilcayo: Bolivia's New Tiger Cat, First in a Century

Scientists formally named Leopardus tilcayo from Bolivia's cloud forests, the first new wild cat species described in more than 100 years.

Scientists have formally recognized *Leopardus tilcayo*, a small spotted feline from Bolivia's cloud forests, as a distinct species of tiger cat — the first new wild cat described in over a century, per Northeastern Global News. The cat belongs to the ocelot lineage, and researchers now count five tiger cat species rather than the previously assumed number. Mashable reports the discovery was detailed in a paper published in *Current Biology* on Thursday. Remarkably, the species became known to science through an accident: a male kitten found on a road was kept at a home for about a year as an attempted pet before being handed to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary in 2016.

The sanctuary cat, affectionately named Tigrino, explains why domestication never took: he was wild all along. According to Mashable, biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz initially identified him as an oncilla (*Leopardus tigrinus*), but reviewing her photos in 2019 she realized the cat did not match others presumed to be the same species. DNA testing later confirmed her suspicion that this was an entirely new species. Tigrino remains the only known tilcayo in protective human care, and per Mashable, practically everything known about tilcayos comes from studying him. The name itself came from locals in Bolivia's Yungas region, who told researchers they simply inherited the word 'tilcayo' from their grandparents.

The tilcayo looks like 'a bunch of little leopard-spotted cats,' Northeastern professor Stephanie Eby told Northeastern Global News, which is why looks alone could not settle the question. Per Mashable, the paper describes 'relatively large, irregular, dark brown to black rosettes' on light brown fur, with a body of 425–505mm — smaller than a typical domestic cat — and a 250–265mm tail. Compared to the oncilla, Nogales-Ascarrunz's team noted larger and more irregular flank markings, a longer and fuller tail, and irregular caudal blotches near the tail. Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation director Jim Sanderson told Northeastern Global News that 'once nature reaches perfection, she only tweaks a little,' which is why scientists turn to genetics.

The tilcayo is not the only species shuffle in the cat family. Sanderson told Northeastern Global News that in southern Brazil, Geoffroy's cats and Atlantic Forest cats are interbreeding as they adapt to human-altered landscapes — potentially producing a sixth tiger cat species that scientists can watch emerge. 'We're seeing evolution in action,' he said. The broader stakes are stark: Northeastern Global News reports estimates of 8 to 20 million species on Earth, of which only 1.5 to 1.7 million have been identified, with around 16,000 added yearly. Sanderson noted roughly half of known beetle species are identified from a single specimen ever found.

Formal recognition carries real conservation weight. 'We cannot protect or fully appreciate what we have not yet recognized or understood,' Baghesur Collective founder Bhavna Menon told Northeastern Global News, and Sanderson noted a population can look healthy only because scientists have lumped it with its relatives. Public interest may be shifting in the small cats' favor: Sanderson told Northeastern Global News that coverage of the tilcayo drew more online traffic than Cecil the lion, the Zimbabwean lion whose 2015 killing sparked global outrage. 'The small cats are having their day,' he said.