SQUEE! New South American Mammal Species (Olinguito) Makes Debut

[KittyWampus]

AP/ August 15, 2013, 11:27 AM
Olinguito makes debut: "New" mammal species had actually been hiding in plain sight at the zoo


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57598671/olinguito-makes-debut-new-mammal-species-had-actually-been-hiding-in-plain-sight-at-the-zoo/


WASHINGTON Imagine a raccoon with a teddy bear face that is so cute it's hard to resist, let alone overlook. But somehow science did — until now.

Researchers announced Thursday a rare discovery of a new species of mammal called the olinguito. It belongs to a grouping of large creatures that include dogs, cats and bears.

The raccoon-sized critter leaps through the trees of mountainous forests of Ecuador and Colombia at night, according to a Smithsonian researcher who has spent the past decade tracking them.

But the adorable olinguito shouldn't have been too hard to find. One of them lived in the Smithsonian-run National Zoo in the Washington for a year in a case of mistaken identity.

[jberryhill]

1. Yes, but are they tasty?

[COLGATE4]

2. Olinguito on a stick - YUM.

[canonfodder]

3. Beautiful

Wonderful little animal.
Probably very endangered.

[ladyVet]

4. What a cutie!

Just when we think we know everything in the world, up pops Mother Nature with something new. Maybe we can manage to not kill them off.