New wild cat species, the Tilcayo tiger, discovered in Bolivia

animalsSep 17, 2026382,444

Scientists have described a new wild cat species, Leopardus tilcayo, from Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forest, marking the first completely new felid species named in over 100 years. Biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz first encountered a kitten in 2016 at the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary after a local man found it on a road and later surrendered it; she photographed it and suspected it was unusual. After developing her genetic-analysis skills and working with geneticist Eduardo Eizirik and co-lead author Jonas Lescroart, the team placed the cat as a distinct species in a study published in the journal Current Biology. The cat is a small, spotted tiger cat smaller than a house cat with a scrunched face, short round ears, long whiskers, and conspicuously large rosettes compared with neighboring tiger cats. Researchers proposed the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo in honor of the local name for the animal, which locals have long called tilcayo. Much about the species remains unknown, including its diet, reproduction, and broader distribution beyond the Yungas ecoregion.

Jason GRIZZLED Bittel

@bittelmethis.bsky.social

BREAKING NEWS: New cat species just dropped! 🧪 What is a tilcayo, exactly? Well, it's a small wild cat in the genus Leopardus and a member of the tiger cat species complex, but it is NOT a tigrina, oncilla, kodkod, Geoffroy's cat... www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

4917h ago

Xullcorr11

Just went from unknown to critically endangered in .03 seconds due to its adorable face.

Black Cat Safehouse9

New cat! New cat! New cat!

Jason GRIZZLED Bittel9

More on the first new cat species discovered in over 100 years, the tilcayo! 🧪 www.instagram.com/reel/DdZMcHA...

rosa californica4

It’s funny how all cats are so recognizably cats in their mannerisms.

Bitten Beads Jewelry 3

Paging @catsofyore.bsky.social Have you seen this???

Quoting this

Glendon Mellow44

Hoping to some tilcayo art in the #SciArt Feed! (Photos by Joel Sartore).

Anjali Dayal36

in every photo I've seen so far of this new cat, it's like 'excuse me, did I ASK to be identified????' I love its annoyed face

Bethany Brookshire32

You will probably get mauled. This will not stop you from going "pspspsps"

Amy Hoy31

this CAT SPECIES is NEW and MAD about it

CZEdwards28

If EVER a cat needed a merch line for the safety of the cat’s own species and the dopes determined to bring one home, this baby needs plushies, right now.

Slippy17

omg look at he little face

Serophous12

Babe wake up! New cat fursona update just went live!

no brain, only alison10

what do you wanna bet the Indigenous people in the area have had stories about these cats for generations...

Mario9

Han descubierto un michi nuevo!

Dr. Sheila Addison5

New cat! New cat! Sometimes we can have nice things. (You cannot have the new cat. I'm sure she is very stabby.)

Phil Lewis

@phillewis.bsky.social

Meet the first new cat species discovered in 100 years: Leopardus tilcayo

6002h ago

The Phoenix Conservancy23

This is a good time to mention that our rainforest site in Madagascar is home to at least one entirely new species too! Say hello to the adorable Boophis samuelsabini, known only from Ivohiboro! Photo courtesy of Edmund Basham

AlyceMiller9

I am so excited about this but hope people leave these creatures alone!

2 girls 2 cats 2 subarus 🏳️‍🌈4

He doesn't look happy to be found.

janes3

it wants to kiss me

Paul A.2

Also a new wave cat

Quoting this

obnoxiously pitt girl37

friend shaped imo would pspspsps

Steve McKerrall16

Oh my god I love it 😻

Dr Anke Marsh7

New favourite wild cat just dropped 😍 The cutest darned kitty (my own cat is currently plotting my demise) and an important one in terms of redrawing the cat family tree and implications for conservation strategies Research paper (open access, yay!): #Mammals #Cats

Malcolm X’s Goatee ✊🏾🌱🧿 (aka Chief Skeet)7

Can we all agree to leave it exactly where it is and don’t disturb it?

Rachel Hands6

i’m sorry we have to cancel everything except protecting the tiny leopard

AmeriKraut6

i'm sorry but i know somebody has seen this motherfker before today. this is not the face of a hidden gem.

Daniel Nye Griffiths6

I have known that this species exists for one (1) day, and am already fully committed to its happiness.

Jai✨La3

This cat looks like he doesn’t want peace, he wants problems, always.

Matana Roberts3

Y’all better put some respect on it’s name🫡, tht look says FAFO in feline😻😹

jazz3

this has been front page news in my home all morning

Dr. Matt Schabath (he/him/his)

@mattschabathphd.bsky.social

🧪 New cat species identified in Bolivia, first in over a century - Called Tilcayo by local communities, it is part of a group called tiger cats found across much of South America www.reuters.com/business/env...

3156h ago

Jaylee the Jellyfish15

I love the "NEW CAT DISCOVERED -- the locals already had a name for it but -- DISCOVERED!!!"

Takaani~Antifa🐺🪶🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️📚🇺🇦2

Please protect this precious creature before some horrible human sets on a mission to have one!

Mister Fahrenheit1

I know it is wrong, but I would really like one...

Quoting this

Anna 🌿👁️80

There is something deeply comforting to me about the idea that we have not yet “discovered” all the animals in the world yet

Pablo Nepomnaschy75

Not new, and not discovered...still great news. I offer a, perhaps, more accurate, less colonizing, title: "Western scientists describe a felid known to local communities as Tilcayo. It is the first description of its kind in over a century"

Gwen C. Katz34

Once again they have discovered a new cat that looks like an ocelot but smaller AND THEY DID NOT CALL IT THE OCELITTLE

Aysha SPX hangover19

Now THIS is the content I want to see

🤖Definitely a Robot🤖4

Finally, some good news. MORE CATS!

Subvet3

Hopefully it’s within a protected area, or about to be protected area.

Palomar2

I love that according to the url, this is considered a ‘business topic’. Yes it is my business

🍁 Christine 🍁2

I don't think petting that cat would work out so well for whatever human tried.

Bo Thompson

@gaudipern.bsky.social

The world has enough heavy news, here's some light stuff: Scientists have confirmed the existence of a species of wild cats previously only known to locals of Bolivia. It is *smaller* than a house cat and its closest living relative diverged 1.4 million years ago. It's called a Tilcayo.

1913h ago

Quoting this

Crimson Oracle 🏳️‍⚧️5

It must be allowed a box, I DEMAND

Sam5

I want the tiny cat!

Seb Downie-Blackwell4

New cat dropped (and landed on their feet)

Niña Gato3

La cara que mantengo todo el dia

DJ Sylveon @ MP262

Ok, who's going to make oc out this new species?

fieldofnonsense.bsky.social

@fieldofnonsense.bsky.social

Previously considered a tiger cat, Leopardus Tilcayo has clawed its way to a new identity as a unique species of feline. The species is likely a whisker away from being added to the endangered species list. The destruction of their home, the Bolivian Cloud Forest, would be a catastrophe for Tilcayo.

1656h ago

Quoting this

Jennifer2

I too have been called a diminutive wildcat a time or two. May Tilcayo thrive in their new, unique status.

Dr. Jack Brown

@drjackbrown.bsky.social

Hello, Leopardus tilcayo. We are human. Most of us want to become much better stewards of our shared planet. May we live up to this responsibility – and leave you alone.

1695h ago

OlympiaDonna4

It is so darned cute 😻 I wonder why it evolved to be so small?

Marty Olliff2

I pledge to do my bit in leaving this little murder-machine alone.

Quoting this

Kate Watson12

Countdown to the first highly instagramable kittens in 3…2…

Simon Fisher

@profsimonfisher.bsky.social

A decade ago, a “weird” kitten was found on a road near a Bolivian forest. Too small to be a housecat, he had a scrunched-up face, short round ears, long whiskers, & a coat of leopard-like spots. DNA analysis now reveals him as the very first of a newly discovered species & I think I'm in love. 😻🧬🧪👇

883h ago

EmperorTigerstar

@emperortigerstar.bsky.social

NEW EARTH UPDATE! WE HAVE A NEWLY DISCOVERED SPECIES OF CAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! It is called either the Tilcayo Tiger Cat or Leopardus Tilcayo. Found in Bolivia right where the Amazon meets the Andes.

474h ago

Dexerto

@dexerto.bsky.social

A new species of cat has been discovered for the first time in over 100 years A Bolivian man brought the tilcayo tiger cat to a local sanctuary after mistaking it for a domestic kitten

393h ago

JR1

yooo new cat just dropped

Chris Simms

@chrisnsimms.bsky.social

Another story of mine that just went online for @newscientist.com. The first completely new species of cat to be named in a century - the tilcayo, a type of tiger cat from Bolivia. Isn't it lovely? #cats 🧪 🐈🦊 🐅 www.newscientist.com/article/2589...

363h ago

Current Biology

@currentbiology.bsky.social

New #cat just dropped! 😻 A first in over 100 years, a genomic study in CB by Eduardo Eizirik and team reveals a new species of 'tiger cat'. 👉 www.cell.com/current-biol... Meet the Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo)! (photo: Fernando Faciole/National Geographic) #cats

344h ago

Ruby S.

@rubyji.bsky.social

I love everything about this (except the shrinking habitat)! They named the species Leopardus tilcayo because local native tribes call it tilcayo. (It's obviously not new to them.)

284h ago

Don Gato 🐱🐈‍⬛🐶🐺🌈🐯

@dongato-1.bsky.social

Nueva especie de gato descubierta después de más de 100 años Los científicos han identificado al Leopardus tilcayo, un pequeño gato salvaje encontrado en Bolivia New cat species discovered after more than 100 years Scientists have identified the Leopardus tilcayo, a small wild cat found in Bolivia🐆

284h ago

Ivy Lynn2

A small wild cat staying hidden from science for a century is peak cat behavior.

mrbunnylamakins🇺🇦🥓🌮 🍕🐸1

Is it a spicy kitty 😾 ?

Tiger - So Cal Cat🐈

@tiger-socal.bsky.social

Scientists have identified the first new wild cat species described in more than 100 years—the Tilcayo cat (Leopardus tilcayo), found in Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forest, where the Andes meet the Amazon basin. Smaller than the average house cat. 🐾 #Hedgewatch #WildlifeDiscovery #WildCats #Bolivia

283h ago