Researchers have identified a new wild cat species known as the Tilcayo tiger cat, discovered after a small animal mistakenly taken for a domestic kitten was brought to a wildlife rehabilitation center near La Paz, Bolivia. Genetic testing revealed it belongs to a unique lineage diverged about 1.4 million years ago.
Wild cats native to South and Central America in the Leopardus genus, commonly referred to as tiger cats, face mounting conservation challenges as agricultural expansion and human development consume their natural habitats. According to Tadeu de Oliveira, an ecologist at the State University of Maranhão in Brazil and coauthor of the study, all five tiger cat species recognized in South America inhabit environments that are vanishing fast.
Discovery at the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary near La Paz
The newly identified Leopardus tilcayo might have continued to escape scientific notice entirely if not for the sharp eyes of volunteer Nogales-Ascarrunz at the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary, a wildlife rehabilitation center situated near La Paz. I saw this cat, it was really, really small, and I couldn’t believe how small it was,
Nogales-Ascarrunz recalled, noting that she initially mistook the animal for a kitten. In fact, the Tilcayo tiger cat is smaller than an ordinary house cat.
The animal’s journey to the sanctuary began when a forest resident living near La Paz found it and mistakenly assumed it was a domestic pet. According to records kept by the sanctuary, the man fed the tiny creature a diet of noodles, rice, and eggs before realizing it was a wild animal that he could no longer care for. He subsequently surrendered the cat to Senda Verde.
Genetic Testing Confirms Leopardus tilcayo as a Unique Species
While sanctuary colleagues initially suspected the animal belonged to a known tiger cat species originating from Brazil, Nogales-Ascarrunz remained skeptical. If you look at the spots or the tail, they really don’t match,
she explained. To resolve the question, she conducted genetic testing utilizing tissue samples gathered from the individual cat alongside a second animal that subsequently arrived at the sanctuary.
The resulting genetic data demonstrated that both specimens were entirely unique and represented the same species. Researchers determined that this lineage diverged from other tiger cat groups approximately 1.4 million years ago—providing sufficient genetic distance to establish it as a distinct species. Unlike other recent mammal discoveries that stem from taxonomic splits of previously unified groups, such as the Sunda clouded leopard identified in 2006, the Tilcayo was entirely novel to science, with no prior specimens existing in museum collections.
Traditional Knowledge in Bolivian Indigenous Communities
Although Western science is only now documenting the animal, local communities in Bolivia have recognized its existence for generations. Nogales-Ascarrunz noted that local residents refer to the animal simply as the Tilcayo. When researchers inquired whether the term carried specific meanings within Quechua, Almyra, or other indigenous languages, community members explained that the name had been passed down through oral tradition. This is a traditional knowledge that they have in the community. We want to preserve that knowledge and we didn’t want to give it another name,
Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
Ongoing Fieldwork in the Yungas Forest
To learn more about the newly validated species in its natural habitat, Nogales-Ascarrunz is actively working to deploy camera traps within the Yungas forest in Bolivia to document further signs of Leopardus tilcayo. Researchers warn that the newly identified cat faces serious threats in the wild. Viewing the discovery as a vital argument for environmental preservation, Nogales-Ascarrunz emphasized that it’s a new reason to protect the world.
