Tilcayo: The Little Wildcat the Yungas Had Known All Along

For generations, people living in Bolivia’s Yungas have known a small wildcat by a name of their own: Tilcayo.

Science has only now caught up.

The animal, formally identified as Leopardus tilcayo, has been recognized as a distinct species after genetic research revealed that its evolutionary lineage is different from those of other South American tiger-cats. The discovery places a previously unrecognized species of wildcat on the scientific map—and puts the forests of the Yungas under a new international spotlight.

The study, published in Current Biology on September 17, 2026, used genomic analysis to examine the evolutionary relationships within the South American tiger-cat complex. Researchers found that what had long been treated as a single species actually comprises five distinct species.

The Tilcayo represents one of them.

Genetic evidence indicates that its lineage separated from the other tiger-cats approximately 1.4 million years ago, following its own evolutionary path.

For Bolivia, the discovery is particularly significant. Two Bolivian scientists, Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz and Enzo Aliaga-Rossel, researchers at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), were part of the international team behind the study.

The research also has roots in Bolivia. Initial work on the animal was carried out at UMSA’s Molecular Genetics Laboratory, where researchers processed samples and conducted some of the first DNA extractions and analyses that would eventually help establish the animal’s distinct genetic identity.

The scientific journey took nearly five years.

What began with questions about a small wildcat known locally as Tilcayo eventually became an international genetic investigation into the evolutionary history of South America’s tiger-cats.

A name preserved in science

The story of Leopardus tilcayo is remarkable not only because a new species has been identified, but also because its scientific recognition preserves a piece of local knowledge.

The communities of the Yungas already had a name for the animal.

Rather than replacing that name with a scientific or foreign common name, researchers chose to retain Tilcayo, incorporating the word into the international scientific story of the species.

It is a reminder that biodiversity knowledge does not begin in a laboratory.

In many places, local and Indigenous communities have observed, named and understood animals and plants for generations. Scientific research can provide genetic evidence and formal taxonomic recognition, but the first knowledge of a species may already exist within the communities that share its habitat.

In this case, science did not discover the animal in the sense of finding something that no one had ever seen.

It discovered what the animal was.

A new species in a rapidly changing world

The Tilcayo's scientific recognition comes at a troubling moment for biodiversity.

Across the planet, ecosystems are being transformed by deforestation, habitat fragmentation, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species and climate change. Wildfires have added another growing threat, particularly in tropical and subtropical forests.

The global biodiversity crisis is already severe. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has estimated that approximately one million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, many within the coming decades as a result of human activities.

Scientists have also estimated that current extinction rates are tens to hundreds of times higher than the average rate over the past 10 million years.

Against this backdrop, every newly documented species carries a particular significance.

A species cannot easily be protected if its existence, distribution, population size and ecological requirements remain unknown.

And the Tilcayo remains largely unknown.

Researchers still need to determine how widely Leopardus tilcayo is distributed, how many individuals remain in the wild, how it reproduces, what it eats, how large its territory is and which environmental conditions it requires to survive.

Its known range may also prove to be larger than current records indicate.

The type locality identified for the species is in Nor Yungas, La Paz, at approximately 1,570 meters above sea level. But scientists caution that much more field research is necessary before its full distribution can be established.

The Amazon fires and the species we may never know

This uncertainty matters even more as Bolivia and other Amazonian countries face increasingly severe pressures on their forests.

Wildfires can destroy vegetation, fragment habitats and alter food chains. For small carnivores, the consequences can extend beyond the immediate destruction caused by flames. The disappearance of prey, changes in vegetation and the fragmentation of forest corridors can isolate populations and reduce their ability to reproduce.

Climate change adds another layer of uncertainty.

As temperatures and rainfall patterns change, species may be forced to move, adapt or disappear. Mountain ecosystems such as the Yungas are particularly important because changes in altitude and climate can alter the distribution of species that have evolved within relatively specific environmental conditions.

The tragedy is that some species could disappear before scientists even know they exist.

The Tilcayo offers the opposite scenario: a species that survived long enough to be scientifically identified.

That distinction should not be taken for granted.

Why this discovery matters for Bolivia

The scientific importance of Leopardus tilcayo extends beyond the biology of a single animal.

It demonstrates that Bolivia’s ecosystems still hold significant scientific unknowns and that Bolivian research institutions can contribute directly to internationally relevant discoveries.

For a country whose biodiversity is often discussed primarily in terms of its forests, rivers, wetlands and iconic wildlife, the Tilcayo adds another dimension: Bolivia is not only a place where biodiversity exists; it is also a place where biodiversity can still be scientifically discovered and documented.

The role of UMSA is therefore particularly relevant.

Genetic research requires laboratories, equipment, trained scientists, long-term fieldwork and international collaboration. The Tilcayo shows what can emerge when those elements come together.

It also underscores the need to strengthen scientific research in Bolivia—not only to study species already known to science, but to identify and understand the biological diversity that remains undocumented.

Every new species brings a scientific responsibility.

Once an animal has a name, a genetic identity and a place on the scientific record, the next question becomes unavoidable:

How can it be protected?

For the Tilcayo, the answer will depend on research that has only just begun.

Scientists must now determine its population, distribution and conservation status. They must understand the pressures it faces, from habitat loss and hunting to its capture as a pet and conflicts with poultry farmers.

But protecting the Tilcayo ultimately means protecting the forests in which it evolved.

And that is perhaps the most powerful message contained in this discovery.

The little wildcat of the Yungas was there long before scientists gave it a Latin name. Its story began in the forests and communities of Bolivia, not in a laboratory.

Science has now given the Tilcayo a scientific identity.

The challenge is to ensure that it does not become a species known to science only because its habitat disappeared.