Leopardus tilcayo

A new wild cat species was discovered. Deep in Bolivia’s mist-covered Yungas forests lives a tiny spotted cat weighing less than many domestic cats. Local communities have long known the elusive feline as the tilcayo, but scientists have now confirmed something remarkable: it is a species all its own.

Named Leopardus tilcayo, the small wild cat is the first new living member of the cat family to be formally described by science in more than a century.

The discovery was reported in the journal Current Biology in September 2026. Using whole-genome analysis, an international team of researchers found that the tilcayo represents an ancient and genetically distinct branch of the South American tiger-cat family tree.

And this little cat has been hiding in plain sight.

Meet the Tilcayo. A New Wild Cat Species

The tilcayo is a diminutive wild cat native to the Bolivian Yungas, a region of humid mountain forests along the eastern slopes of the Andes.

An adult is approximately:

• 18 to 20 inches long, excluding the tail
• About 10 inches long in the tail
• Between 3 and 4 pounds in weight

That makes it smaller than the average domestic cat.

Its light-brown coat is marked with large, irregular dark rosettes, creating the appearance of a miniature leopard. The tilcayo also has a relatively long, slender tail, rounded ears and distinctive facial markings.

These physical traits helped alert researchers that the Bolivian cats might not match the descriptions of other known tiger cats. But appearance alone was not enough to establish a new species.

Tiger cats are considered cryptic species. They may look almost identical from the outside while possessing important genetic differences that reveal separate evolutionary histories.

In this case, the secret was hidden in the cat’s DNA.

A Kitten Mistaken for a Domestic Cat

The story began when a local resident found a spotted kitten near a road and initially believed it might be a domestic cat. The animal reportedly lived with the family for about a year before its wild behavior made clear that it did not belong in a home.

The cat was transferred to the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolivia’s Yungas region.

When Bolivian biologist and National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz examined the cat, she noticed that it did not quite resemble the tiger cats described in scientific references. Its markings, coloring and proportions appeared different.

The sanctuary resident, a male called Tigrino, would eventually become the reference individual for the newly described species.

Scientists have examined only two living tilcayos so far—Tigrino and another individual photographed after being captured in the wild. A small number of possible tilcayos have also appeared in camera-trap images.

DNA Redraws the Tiger-Cat Family Tree

To investigate the cat’s identity, researchers analyzed complete genomes from 38 wild cats from South and Central America. These included 26 members of the tiger-cat group as well as eight specimens preserved in natural-history museums.

The results revealed that the animals collectively called tiger cats are not one widely distributed species. They represent five genetically distinct species:

• Northern tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus)
• Southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus)
• Eastern tiger cat (Leopardus emiliae)
• Clouded tiger cat (Leopardus pardinoides)
• Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo)

The genomic evidence indicates that the tilcayo lineage separated from the other tiger cats approximately 1.4 million years ago.

The researchers also identified a newly recognized subspecies from Peru’s Yungas forests, named Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo. Its name refers to Antisuyu, the eastern region of the former Inca Empire.

The findings were published in the study “Phylogenomics and museomics reveal five distinct species of tiger cats in South America.”

A Scientific Discovery Built on Local Knowledge

Although Leopardus tilcayo is new to science, it was not unknown to the people living near its forest habitat.

Local communities already used the name tilcayo for these small spotted cats. Researchers chose to preserve that name when formally describing the species, acknowledging the knowledge of the people who have shared the landscape with it for generations.

The precise origin of the word “tilcayo” remains uncertain, but community members told researchers that the name had been passed down from their grandparents.

This distinction matters. Scientists did not suddenly discover an animal no human had ever seen. Instead, genomic research allowed them to recognize that a locally known cat represented an overlooked species with its own evolutionary history.

What Do We Know About Leopardus tilcayo’s Life?

For now, surprisingly little.

Camera-trap evidence suggests that the tilcayo may be primarily nocturnal. Researchers have also found the remains of small rodents in fecal samples, indicating that rodents are at least part of their diet.

Their complete geographic range, population size, breeding behavior and habitat requirements remain unknown. Scientists are now placing additional camera traps in the Yungas in hopes of documenting more individuals in the wild.

Even identifying the cat in photographs can be difficult. Tilcayos may have previously been recorded as northern tiger cats, margays or oncillas because the small spotted cats look so similar.

Why Recognizing a New wild cat Species Matters

Naming a species is about far more than adding another branch to the cat family tree.

When several distinct species are treated as one widely distributed animal, that combined population may appear relatively secure. Once scientists recognize that it is actually composed of separate species—each with a much smaller range and population—the conservation picture can change dramatically.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently treats tiger cats under broader classifications that are listed as Vulnerable, with declining populations. The researchers have shared their findings with the IUCN so that the five tiger-cat species can eventually be assessed separately.

Once evaluated on their own, Leopardus tilcayo could prove to be at greater risk than anyone realized.

The Threatened Forest the Tilcayo Calls Home

The Bolivian Yungas form a spectacular transition zone between the high Andes and the Amazon Basin. Clouds settle among steep forested mountains, creating an environment rich in moisture and biodiversity.

These forests shelter many plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth—but they are under growing pressure from:

• Deforestation
• Agricultural expansion
• Human-caused fires
• Mining
• Habitat fragmentation

Protecting remaining native forests, restoring burned areas and maintaining connected habitat corridors will be essential if the tilcayo and the Yungas’ many other species are to survive.

How Many More Species Are Waiting to Be Recognized?

The identification of a new wild cat in the 21st century is a powerful reminder of how much we still do not know about life on Earth.

Large, charismatic mammals might seem unlikely to escape scientific recognition. Yet small wild cats receive far less research attention than lions, tigers and other members of the genus Panthera. Their secretive behavior, remote habitats and physical similarity can conceal important differences for generations.

Natural-history museums also played an essential role in this discovery. DNA recovered from preserved specimens allowed researchers to compare cats from countries across South and Central America—even when new samples from living animals were unavailable.

The same combination of museum collections, modern genomics, field research and local knowledge may reveal additional overlooked wild cat species in South America, Africa and Asia.

The tilcayo has survived unnoticed by science for countless generations in the cloud forests of Bolivia. Now that we know this cat represents a unique species, we also inherit a responsibility to ensure that the cat does not disappear just as we are beginning to understand them.

A new wild cat has joined the family tree.

May this tiny cat’s scientific recognition bring something even more important: protection for the forests the cat has always called home.