Texas Rescue Says Tiny Spotted Cat from Bolivia Is First U.S. Example of Brand-New Wild Species In 100 Years

AUSTIN, Texas — A small volunteer-run cat rescue in central Texas is claiming it now holds the first documented individual of a newly described wild cat species ever recorded in the United States.

The animal, named Tyga, arrived at Austin Siamese Rescue a few weeks ago after his owners moved from Bolivia. According to the group, the family was later deported and local police delivered the unusual-looking cat to the rescue. Staff immediately noticed he did not match any domestic breed they regularly handle. He is smaller than a typical house cat, with a compact body, short rounded ears, long whiskers, a slightly scrunched face, and a coat covered in large, irregular dark-brown-to-black rosettes on a light brown background.

In a video released Saturday, Tyga stands calmly on a stainless-steel veterinary exam table. A person wearing navy-blue “ATX Siamese Rescue” scrubs and a stethoscope stands behind him. The cat turns his head toward the camera, revealing large amber eyes, distinct facial stripes, and a ringed tail. He appears alert but composed, taking a few slow steps across the table as the clip ends. The 10-second video has already drawn thousands of views.

Rescue volunteers said they could not identify the species until Thursday, when a scientific paper formally named Leopardus tilcayo, the first new living cat species described in more than a century. The paper, published in the journal Current Biology, used genomic analysis of 38 cats across South and Central America and concluded that the long-debated “tiger cat” complex actually contains five distinct species. One of them, found in Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forests on the eastern slope of the Andes, was given the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo after the local common name used by communities in the region.

The species is tiny: head-to-body length of roughly 17–20 inches, tail about 10 inches, and weight between 3 and 4 pounds. Its coat features relatively large, open or partially closed rosettes that do not merge, a trait researchers say helps distinguish it from close relatives such as Leopardus pardinoides. Genetic data indicate the tilcayo lineage split from other tiger cats about 1.4 million years ago. Until this week, scientists had examined only two living individuals, both in Bolivia; the holotype is a male called Tigrino living at the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary.

Austin Siamese Rescue said it sent photos and video of Tyga to Bolivian biologist and National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a co-author of the study. The group later stated that further testing confirmed the identification, making Tyga the first known Leopardus tilcayo in the United States. The rescue has announced he will remain in its permanent care and will not be placed for adoption.

The official Austin Siamese Rescue account posted links to an article describing the same sequence of events and thanked National Geographic for the coverage. Independent confirmation from the lead researchers or U.S. wildlife authorities has not yet appeared in major scientific or news outlets beyond the rescue’s own statements.

The discovery of Leopardus tilcayo itself has drawn international attention because no new living cat species had been formally named since the Pampas cat in 1923. Researchers still know little about the animal’s wild population size, exact range, or behavior in the cloud forests of Bolivia. Camera-trap surveys are planned to locate more individuals in their native habitat.

For now, Tyga remains in Texas under the care of the small foster-based rescue that took him in after his owners’ unexpected departure. Whether additional genetic testing by independent labs will be published remains to be seen. The video of the compact, leopard-spotted cat on the exam table has already introduced thousands of viewers to a species most of the world learned existed only this week.