Scientists Discover New Species of Overlooked Adorable Carnivore: The Olinguito

It's cute, it's fuzzy and it's been suffering a case of mistaken identity for the past 100 years. Scientists have recently uncovered an overlooked museum specimens of a remarkable animal, revealing the first carnivore species to be discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years.

The new species is called an olinguito. Looking a bit like a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear, it's actually related more closely to raccoons, coatis, kinkajous and olingos. Possessing large eyes and woolly, orange-brown fur, the olinguito is native to the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.

You'd think that an animal like this would be impossible to "conceal" in today's mostly-explored world. Yet finding large species is more common than you might think. For example, researchers recently discovered a new species of dwarf lemur in Madagascar and other scientists found a new variety of hero shrew in Africa.

So how did the olinguito hide in plain sight? That's a good question. Scientists wanted to complete the first comprehensive study of olingos, several species of tree-living carnivores in the genus Bassaricyon. Yet during the course of this study, the researchers stumbled on a previously undescribed species.

The first clue that this creature wasn't a typical olingo was its skull. It was smaller and differently shaped in comparison to an olingo's. In addition, the researchers found museum skins that revealed this new species was also smaller overall with a longer and denser coat. Field records showed that this animal could be found in an unusual area of the northern Andes Mountains at 5,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level--elevations much higher than known species of olingo inhabited.

The next step was to see if this species still actually existed in the wild. The scientists decided to organize an expedition, exploring the Andean forests as they hunted for the animal. After their three-week mission, the scientists found what they were looking for; they discovered living olinguitos in a forest on the western slopes of the Andes.

These creatures mainly explore their forest homes at night, feeding mostly on fruit. Having just one baby at a time, olinguitos could potentially be more sensitive to disappearing habitat--especially considering where they live. The cloud forest is currently under heavy pressure from human development; already, about 42 percent of historic olinguito habitat has been converted to agriculture or urban areas.

"The cloud forests of the Andes are a world unto themselves, filled with many species found nowhere else, many of them threatened or endangered," said Kristofer Helgen, leader of the team reporting the new discovery, in a news release. "We hope that the olinguito can serve as an ambassador species for the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia, to bring the world's attention to these critical habitats."

Currently, the researchers plan to continue studying the olinguito to learn more about this unusual creature. They hope to find out more about its behavior and what they can do in order to ensure its conservation in the wild.

The findings are published in the journal ZooKeys.