Tigrino is a male wild cat, about 10 years old and 3 lbs (1.4 kg), living at La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolivia's Yungas. He was taken from the forest as a kitten and kept as a pet for about a year; he arrived at the sanctuary in 2017 unable to return to the wild, and has been under its care since. In September 2026 scientists confirmed he belongs to Leopardus tilcayo, a species never described before. He is the holotype and the only confirmed living Leopardus tilcayo; scientists believe others live undetected in the Yungas cloud forest.

What is Leopardus tilcayo?

Leopardus tilcayo is a small wild tiger cat species from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forest, formally described on September 17, 2026 in the journal Current Biology and announced by National Geographic. It is the first new living cat species named in over 100 years, since the pampas cat in 1923. It split from other tiger cats about 1.4 million years ago.

What is the difference between Tigrino and tilcayo?

Tigrino is the name of the individual cat, given by La Senda Verde sanctuary staff in 2017. Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) is the species name, taken from the word local Yungas communities use for the animal.

How much money has been donated to Tigrino's sanctuary?

Over $100,000 (more than 1,000 SOL) was donated to La Senda Verde Animal Refuge Inc, the sanctuary's US 501(c)(3), within 48 hours of the species announcement. The funds come from $TIGRINO, a community token on Solana whose creator fees are locked 100% to the sanctuary via donate.gg. Every donation is public on donate.gg and the sanctuary confirmed receipt on X.

$TIGRINO is a community-run memecoin on Solana launched on pump.fun on September 18, 2026. 100% of its creator fees are locked on-chain to La Senda Verde Animal Refuge Inc; the creator receives 0% and holds no tokens. It has no team, no roadmap, and no affiliation with National Geographic or the study authors.

Where does Tigrino live?

Tigrino lives at La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary near Coroico in Bolivia's Yungas region, a rescue that cares for more than 1,000 animals recovered from wildlife trafficking. The sanctuary posts updates about him at @La_Senda_Verde on X.