A new wild cat species is found in Bolivia, the first in more than 100 years

Scientists say a tiny wild cat in Bolivia is a new species. It is the first new living cat species named in more than 100 years. The study came out on Thursday.

The cat is called the tilcayo. It lives in the Yungas, a forest in the mountains where clouds often cover the trees. It is about 46 centimetres long and weighs about 1.4 kilograms, so it is smaller than a normal house cat. Its fur is light brown with dark spots, said Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, one of the scientists who wrote the study.

One tilcayo cat lives at the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary, a place where wild animals are kept safe. His name is Tigrino, and he is 10 years old. A family tried to keep him as a pet at home, but it did not work, so in 2017 he moved to the sanctuary. Many people now come to see him. But Tigrino gets stressed easily, so the people who care for him keep him away from visitors.

Scientists studied the DNA of 38 cats. DNA is the material inside a living thing that tells it how to grow. They found that tiger cats are really five different species. Tigrino's home forest is in danger from cutting trees, farming, fires and mining, so his species may be in danger too. A group that keeps a list of animals at risk will now look at each of the five species alone.