Bolivian man rescues a “weird cat” from Yungas forest, then turns it in to a wildlife researcher who ends up making the discovery of the century: ‘It’s the first new cat species in...

The useful part

Imagine rescuing a kitten and it ends up being a new species to introduce to the entire world! This isn't the first time, and it certainly won't be the last time that someone rescues a "kitten" that ends up being a wild cat. We've covered stories of people accidentally rescuing puma cubs, or the cat turns out to be a rare breed like a Norwegian forest cat, but none of these feline rescues have ever turned into the discovery of the century.

How it works

• After watching it grow, he started to suspect something was fishy, and it wasn't the tuna he was feeding the little catto.
• It's not every day that you get to introduce a new wild cat to the scientific world.
• A Bolivian man reportedly found one of these kittens near a forest road and brought it home, believing it was just a regular cat that got lost in the forest.
• He brought the kitten to biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz at a wildlife sanctuary.
• She confirmed his suspicions, immediately understanding that this wasn't any normal domestic cat.

What to take from it

She started genetic testing, and finally found out that this kitten was a new species entirely. You might be imagining that Leopardus tilcayo is some meowjestic, gigantic wild cat, thanks to the "Leopardus" in the beginning of its name.

Details worth keeping

Now that's what we call a meowraculous rescue. The first new species to be discovered in nearly 100 years!