一百年才被发现的新猫

There is a small cat living in a home.

The family likes this cat very much.

They think this is a house cat.

Friends also say this is a house cat.

But this cat is not a house cat.

This is a new cat.

A new cat means a cat that scientists do not know.

Scientists say that for a hundred years, people had not discovered a new cat.

The last time was 1923.

Now it is 2026.

So this is a very big deal.

No new cat for a hundred years, so people are very happy.

Why are people very happy?

Because people waited a hundred years.

People waited a hundred years before seeing this new kind of cat.

A hundred years is many, many years.

In these hundred years, no one discovered a new cat.

At first, people did not know this was a new cat.

Then scientists came.

They looked at this cat.

They also looked at 38 other cats.

These 38 cats came from many countries.

They looked at the genes of these cats.

Scientists found that this cat's genes are different from other cats.

This cat and other cats have been separate for 1.4 million years.

Being separate for 1.4 million years is a very, very long time.

So scientists know: this is a new cat.

This cat's name is Tilcayo.

Tilcayo is the name of this cat in Bolivia.

In Bolivia, people call this cat Tilcayo.

This cat is very small.

This cat is only 46 centimeters and 3 pounds.

This is smaller than a house cat.

This cat's fur has black spots and is very pretty.

This cat's ears are round.

This is a very rare cat.

This cat lives in the mountains of Bolivia.

This cat's home is in the mountains.

Bolivia is a country.

This cat is only in Bolivia.

In other countries, people have not seen this cat.

Because this cat lives in the mountains, it is hard for people to see it.

Now, people know two of these cats.

One is male, one is female.

When the male was very small, a person saw him on the road.

This person let him live in their home.

He lived in this home for over a year.

Then, this person sent him to an animal protection place.

Now, he is 10 years old and lives in this place.

He has lived in that place for many years.

The people there like him very much.

The female, some people hit her.

Her body was not well.

Then, people rescued her.

People let her return to the mountains.

Now, she lives in the mountains.

Scientists say this cat is in danger.

There are only two in the world.

People do not know how many there are.

Scientists say this cat may soon be gone.

If this cat is gone, people will not be able to see it.

So scientists want to protect this cat.

They also want to protect the mountains where this cat lives.

They want to see where this cat lives.

They want to know how many of these cats there are.

If a kind of cat only has two in the world, what would you do?