# New species of cat discovered in Bolivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 17, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156 "2026-09-17T20:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/1 "2026-09-17T20:44:38Z")
A new species of cat was recently discovered in Bolivia. They are smaller than domestic cats. IMHO they look like miniature leopards. They were reportedly discovered after someone tried to adopt one thinking it was a stray cat. They eventually realized it wasn’t a stray and brought it to a wildlife sanctuary. [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/meet-the-first-new-cat-species-discovered-in-100-years](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/meet-the-first-new-cat-species-discovered-in-100-years) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/2 "2026-09-17T20:58:26Z")
That article appears to be behind a paywall. [Here](https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/new-cat-species-identified-bolivia-first-over-century-2026-09-17/) instead is one from Reuters. FYI, the species is called Leopardus tilcayo. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/3 "2026-09-17T23:26:55Z")
There is already a Wikipedia page for it: > **[Tilcayo tiger cat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilcayo_tiger_cat)** > > The tilcayo tiger cat, Leopardus tilcayo, is a species of wildcat from Bolivia, which first became known to science in 2026. It is the first newly identified species of the Felidae family, or cat family, to be formally identified in over a century. The species was already known by local communities. Biologist and National Geographic explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz first encountered the species in 2016, when a local wildlife sanctuary contacted her about a cat that had been brought in. For aroun... ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/4 "2026-09-17T23:32:17Z")
Very cool! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/5 "2026-09-17T23:34:51Z")
How long before someone attempts to domesticate one? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/6 "2026-09-17T23:54:30Z")
The article begins by describing that that is exactly what some guy attempted. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/7 "2026-09-17T23:56:21Z")
To be fair he thought he was rescuing a stray cat. Once he realized he had a wild animal, he took it to a wildlife rehab facility. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/8 "2026-09-18T00:02:38Z")
I was imagining a Bolivian crazy cat lady trying to do so, knowing that it is a wild animal. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/9 "2026-09-18T00:21:01Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > They were reportedly discovered after someone tried to adopt one thinking it was a stray cat. They eventually realized it wasn’t a stray and brought it to a wildlife sanctuary. I’m fascinated by the line “they eventually realized it wasn’t a stray”! Exactly how did they come to realize this? Curious readers want to know! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/10 "2026-09-18T00:27:43Z")
The biologist was “intrigued” and “took pictures” and yet .. no pictures! 😡 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/11 "2026-09-18T00:31:59Z")
There’s a good picture in the Reuters link in the second post. But capture the image if you like it, because after the first visit, the site insists you subscribe. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/12 "2026-09-18T02:13:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That article appears to be behind a paywall. [Moderator Note - Text Removed] ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/13 "2026-09-18T02:42:23Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > [Moderator Note - Text Removed] The text of your post has been removed since it gave instructions on how to bypass a firewall. While blocking ads is perfectly legal and acceptable, bypassing firewalls is considered theft of service and is not allowed. Seems like a bit of an odd place to draw the line if you ask me, but that’s what the courts have decided. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/14 "2026-09-18T03:21:39Z")
The original link is not beyond a paywall. It _does_ make you enter your email to subscribe to their feed, which is annoying, but it’s a different kind of annoying than an actual paywall. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/15 "2026-09-18T03:59:31Z")
Very cute. As I’ve noted before, the Americas have an inordinate number of small, spotted cat species. Many of them with quite small, endangered populations. The genus [Leopardus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopardus) is filled with a variety of similar-looking critters from the relatively well known ocelot and margay, to the pretty obscure oncilla and kodkod. It would pretty easy to mistake this melanistic [kodkod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodkod#/media/File:G%C3%BCi%C3%B1a_mel%C3%A1nica_(Leopardus_guigna).jpg) for somebody’s escaped pet, but it very much is not. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/16 "2026-09-18T09:38:15Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > the pretty obscure oncilla and kodkod Wow, I consider myself fairly well-informed about the various wild cats, but I’d never heard of either of those. “Pretty obscure” indeed! (Thanks for teaching me a thing today.) ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/17 "2026-09-18T11:23:48Z")
Very cool. As a former Zoologist I am always surprised when a new animal species is discovered. The fact that it has been unknown for so long tells me it’s been able to live in a remote location where it’s not likely to be seen. I hope it stays that way and tourists aren’t allowed to tdisturb it’s daily life. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/18 "2026-09-19T00:45:39Z")
This should be non-paywalled: [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/science/tilcayo-new-cat-species-bolivia.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.CVE.p3s2.3I1-naASllV1&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/science/tilcayo-new-cat-species-bolivia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.CVE.p3s2.3I1-naASllV1&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/19 "2026-09-19T00:57:19Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > The fact that it has been unknown for so long tells me it’s been able to live in a remote location where it’s not likely to be seen. According to the article it was known to locals - hence the proposed scientific name, which is the native word for it - so really, it was only “unknown for so long” to silly researchers. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156/20 "2026-09-19T02:04:42Z")
Looks like they’re the size of our two diminutive cats. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-of-cat-discovered-in-bolivia/1033156.md?page=2)