Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Olinguito!
The Smithsonian Institution announced today that a new mammal has been discovered in the forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
He belongs to the raccoon family, looks sort of like a cat crossed with a teddy bear and is the first new carnivore on record in 35 years.
"It was like nothing I'd ever seen before," scientist Kristofer Helgen said of first laying eyes upon the Olinguito at at Chicago's Field Museum.
It was apparently clear right away that the teeth and skull were different than a similar mammal, the Olingo.
Olinguitos mostly subsist on fruit, but they possess the teeth to eat meat. They also have thick, wool-like fur and measure about 2.5 feet in length.
Helgen, ever the tease, said this discovery took place while investigating Olingos and that he and and his team have made what they think to be even bigger discoveries... but it may take another 10 years to announce them.
In the meantime, come on: How cute is the Olinguito?!? On a scale of grumpy cat to baby panda sucking its thumb?
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