Quick Answer: No, Leopardus tilcayo — the newly discovered “tilcayo” tiger cat — is not dangerous to humans. This tiny wildcat is about 18 inches long and weighs only 3 pounds, making it smaller than the average house cat. It’s a shy, secretive forest animal that poses no real threat to people. It made headlines because it’s the first new cat species named in over a century, not because it’s fierce.
What Is Leopardus tilcayo?
Leopardus tilcayo is a newly discovered species of wild cat originating in South America. This creature belongs to the tiger cat group of animals, which are small cats of the genus Leopardus found only in South America. The animal’s scientific name comes from the local name for it, used by the communities of Bolivia, where it has been known as tilcayo for centuries.
Despite the similar name referencing “tiger,” these animals have nothing to do with the large felines. Tiger cats belong to the same genus as ocelots, but they are not closely related to actual tigers. They got their name due to the appearance of their coat, resembling that of a tiger.
How Was It Discovered?
The story about these scientists is almost as interesting as the discovery itself. In 2016, a biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia, where a man brought in a small cat that he found, but she did not think it was like any tiger cat. At first, it seemed to her that the cat was just unusual, but she later learned that she was right to be suspicious.
It took many years of patient observation for Paola, with the help of a geneticist Eduardo Eizirik and a researcher Jonas Lescroart, to finally be able to claim that they have found a new species of tiger cat. Thanks to genetic testing, they were able to see where exactly this animal fell on the evolutionary tree. When they discovered that this cat had diverged from the closest relative almost 1.4 million years ago, they realized it was unlike any other known species.
The results of their research appeared in the journal “Current Biology” , where they formally described this new cat and discovered five different species of tiger cats living in South America.
Where Does the Tilcayo Tiger Cat Live?
This little elusive-looking cat has a very specific location it can be found in. It was discovered in one of the most humid forests in Bolivia, the Yungas. This forest is known for the high amount of humidity in the air and the fog surrounding the trees. However, it was more specifically found in the La Paz Nor Yungas Province, Arapata, near 1,570 m above sea level.
The cloud forest where the animal was found is located in a region of the world that was defined by its dramatic landscape, the place where the Andes meet the Amazon basin. The area is very isolated and remote which could explain why the animal was not known to science before this.
Is the Tilcayo Tiger Cat Dangerous?
Here’s the honest, straightforward answer: no. This is not a large predator like a jaguar or puma. It’s a small, quiet forest dweller built for stealth, not confrontation.
A few facts put this into perspective:
- Size: Adults weigh between 3 to 4 pounds and reach up to 20 inches long without the tail, with the tail adding roughly 10 more inches.
- Diet: Scat samples suggest small rodents make up part of its diet — not livestock, and certainly not people.
- Behaviour: Camera-trap evidence hints that the species may be more active at night, which fits the classic pattern of a shy, hard-to-spot nocturnal hunter.
If anything, this cat has far more reason to fear humans than we have to fear it.
What Does It Look Like?
The tilcayo tiger cat has a modest beauty about it, rather than something fierce. It has light brown fur, which is speckled with irregularly shaped rosettes that run along the length of its body. The rosettes themselves are large and tend to be dark brown to black in color, mostly being open or partially closed instead of being solid. It is overall a slender, spotted creature with rounded ears that could easily fit in with the thick underbrush of a cloud-forest.
Why Is This Discovery Such a Big Deal?
Finding a new cat species altogether is not a common event. According to the researchers, it is the first time when a brand new feline species was identified and officially recognized as such in more than a century. The way the newly discovered animal was classified could change the way scientists study wildcats in the future. Eiziric stated that they worked on the tiger cats classification issue for about a quarter of a century, and DNA analysis finally allowed resolving this scientific mystery.
Researchers say that the same genomic method could potentially be used to identify other undiscovered cat species and help preserve the feline ones better.
Conservation Status and Threats
Tragically, the tiger cat species may already be at risk. The tiger cat species is generally under significant conservation pressure from a variety of different factors, including agricultural use and development which are encroaching into the forest. As such, study co-author Tadeu de Oliveira said that every one of these species of tiger cats are located in a biome that is quickly being lost.
At present, population sizes are unknown, with only one individual, referred to as Tigrino, currently surviving safely in captivity at the Senda Verde Animal Refuge in Bolivia, next to a sighting in the wild. Conservationists believe there needs to be more field work in order to find out exactly how many tilcayo cats there are left, and how they should be conserved in their cloud-forest habitat.
FAQ
Is Leopardus tilcayo a new tiger species?
No. Despite the name “tiger cat,” it’s unrelated to actual tigers. It’s a small wildcat in the same genus as ocelots.
Can the tilcayo tiger cat hurt humans?
No. It’s a small, shy animal roughly the size of a house cat and poses no danger to people.
Where was the tilcayo tiger cat found?
In Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forest, in the La Paz region near the Andes mountains.
Why was it only just discovered?
Tiger cats look very similar to each other, so scientists needed detailed genetic testing to tell them apart — technology that’s only become reliable in recent years.
Is the tilcayo tiger cat endangered?
Its exact status isn’t confirmed yet, but experts warn its cloud-forest habitat is shrinking fast, putting it at real risk.
Further Reading
- National Geographic — Meet the First New Cat Species Discovered in 100 Years
- Scientific American — See the First New Species of Cat Discovered in More Than a Century
- Live Science — Scientists Name a New Cat Species for the First Time in Over a Century
- NBC News — New Wild Cat Species Is Identified for First Time in 100 Years
- CNN — Meet the Tiny Wild Cat That’s New to Science
- Wikipedia — Tilcayo Tiger Cat
