Scientists discover first new wild cat in more than 100 years

A previously unknown cat species has been identified in plain sight: at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia, where the small, spotted feline had been living for years. The discovery, reported Thursday in the journal Current Biology, marks the first time scientists have named and described a new living wild cat species in more than a century. Bolivian biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic explorer and one of the study’s lead authors, said a colleague who thought the cat looked unusual invited her to examine it at the sanctuary in the country’s Yungas region, where she volunteered, a couple hours' drive from the administrative capital of La Paz. A local family had left it there after finding it in the forest and struggling to keep it as a pet. What struck her was its size, she said – smaller than an average house cat, the male, now about 10 years old, measures 18 inches (46 centimetres) from its head to the base of its tail and weighs just 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). Its light brown coat is patterned with dark, leopardlike spots. “Knowing other wild cats, it was peculiar,” she said. “He really is tiny.” Read moreNepal's tiger numbers rise 20 percent to an estimated 429 T...