Scientists have confirmed a new species of wild cat found in the forests of Bolivia. The cat, which is about the size of a domestic cat, had gone unnoticed for years because its spots and stripes closely resemble those of other small wild cats in South and Central America.
DNA analysis has now shown that it is distinct from any known species. Researchers say the finding exposes how little is known about some of the world’s most elusive mammals and could help draw attention to tiger cats, a group of small wild felines that gets far less conservation focus than big cats like lions and tigers.
At the moment, only one living member of the species is confirmed to be a 10 year old male nicknamed ‘Tigrino’ kept at a rescue sanctuary in Bolivia.
Tigrino was found in the forest as a kitten by a local resident who thought it was a domestic cat. It was only as it grew and began behaving differently that suspicions arose.
The discovery began when Bolivian scientist Dr Nogales-Ascarrunz, who was volunteering at the sanctuary, noticed the cat’s unusual features. She recalled reports of similar small wild cats sighted in Bolivia’s dense Yungas forests, which had never been scientifically investigated.
She teamed up with researchers across the world to trace the family tree of tiger cats, using DNA from live animals and museum specimens.
Eduardo Eizirik, a conservation geneticist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, said the species remained hidden because no one was looking for it.
“There’s so few records or pictures, no individual in a museum, so it was hiding because nobody was looking,” Eizirik said.
The study, published in Current Biology, found that there are five species of tiger cats rather than three, including the newly identified species named Leopardus tilcayo, or the Tilcaya cat.
Co-author Dr Caroline Sartor of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford said identifying the species is critical to protecting it.
Sartor said conservation is impossible if scientists do not know what a species is or where it lives, adding that the discovery shows how much biodiversity remains unknown.
Tiger cats are considered vulnerable to extinction due to deforestation, habitat loss and illegal hunting, though the new species has not yet been assessed.
The finding may also change the total count of wild cat species globally. While 41 species are officially recognised in the Felidae family, the discovery could push the number to 44 or more.
Andrew Kitchener, a mammals expert at National Museums Scotland who was not part of the study, described tiger cats as a “taxonomic nightmare” because they look so alike and are poorly represented in museums.
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