ENS

Level-graded English lessons with reading, listening, activities, and discussion.

Lesson Info

Type
Article
Level
3 / B1
Published
Title
A New Wild Cat Found in Bolivia
Webpage
https://eslnewsstories.com/articles/2026-09-21-a-new-wild-cat-found-in-bolivia/

Lesson Content

Warm-up, Vocab List, Reading and Audio

Understanding: Main Idea, True or False, Multiple Choice

Language: Words That Go Together, New Sentences

Use It: Discussion Builder, Discussion Questions

Answers

What could a wildlife sanctuary help scientists learn about a rare animal?

a) How the animal looks and behaves

b) Where the animal may live in the wild

c) What care the animal needs to stay healthy

A woman looks up at a small spotted wild cat sitting on a raised platform inside a chain-link enclosure.
A newly identified wild cat.

Vocab List

wildlife sanctuary (n. phrase) — a protected place where wild animals are cared for
tissue (n.) — the material that forms the parts of an animal or plant body
species (n.) — a group of animals or plants of the same kind
gene (n.) — a part of a living thing that passes features from parents to young
spotted (adj.) — having small round marks of a different color
ancestor (n.) — an animal or person that lived long ago and that later animals or people come from
cloud forest (n. phrase) — a forest high in the mountains where there is often cloud or mist
camera trap (n. phrase) — a camera that takes pictures of wild animals when they pass by
domestic (adj.) — kept by people as a pet or farm animal, not living wild
habitat (n.) — the natural place where an animal or plant lives
Reading

Two unusual cats at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia have helped scientists discover a wild cat species that was not known before. The animal is called the tilcayo tiger cat, or Leopardus tilcayo.

The small, spotted cat lives in a cloud-forest region in Bolivia, between the Andes Mountains and the Amazon rainforest area. It has rounded ears and is even smaller than a typical house cat. Scientists wrote about it in the science journal Current Biology.

A scientist first noticed one of the cats at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia. A local man had found it in the forest and believed it was a domestic kitten. However, Nogales-Ascarrunz saw that its spots and tail did not match those of known tiger cat species.

She and her team tested tissue from that cat and another animal at the sanctuary. Tests of the cats' genes showed that they were the same newly discovered species. About 1.4 million years ago, this cat's ancestors separated from other tiger cat groups.

People in nearby communities had known about the animal for many years and called it tilcayo. Scientists chose to keep that name. They now hope to use camera traps to learn how many tilcayo tiger cats are still living in the wild, because their forest habitat is disappearing quickly.

A New Wild Cat Found in Bolivia

Level 3 Article Source: nbcnews.com
Warm-up → or → Check Understanding → Language → Use It

A woman looks up at a small spotted wild cat sitting on a raised platform inside a chain-link enclosure.
A newly identified wild cat.

Two unusual cats at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia have helped scientists discover a wild cat species that was not known before. The animal is called the tilcayo tiger cat, or Leopardus tilcayo.

The small, spotted cat lives in a cloud-forest region in Bolivia, between the Andes Mountains and the Amazon rainforest area. It has rounded ears and is even smaller than a typical house cat. Scientists wrote about it in the science journal Current Biology.

A scientist first noticed one of the cats at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia. A local man had found it in the forest and believed it was a domestic kitten. However, Nogales-Ascarrunz saw that its spots and tail did not match those of known tiger cat species.

She and her team tested tissue from that cat and another animal at the sanctuary. Tests of the cats' genes showed that they were the same newly discovered species. About 1.4 million years ago, this cat's ancestors separated from other tiger cat groups.

People in nearby communities had known about the animal for many years and called it tilcayo. Scientists chose to keep that name. They now hope to use camera traps to learn how many tilcayo tiger cats are still living in the wild, because their forest habitat is disappearing quickly.

Speaker: American Female  Duration: 1:45  YouTube

Listen Closely

Listen and Fill Gaps

Listen to the audio on eslnewsstories.com and complete the gaps below:

Two (1) cats at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia have helped scientists discover a wild cat species that was not known before. The animal is called the tilcayo tiger cat, or Leopardus tilcayo.

The small, spotted cat lives in a cloud-forest region in Bolivia, between the Andes Mountains and the Amazon rainforest area. It has (2) ears and is even smaller than a typical house cat. Scientists wrote about it in the science journal Current Biology.

A scientist first (3) one of the cats at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia. A local man had found it in the forest and believed it was a domestic kitten. However, Nogales-Ascarrunz saw that its spots and tail did not match those of known tiger cat species.

She and her team tested (4) from that cat and another animal at the sanctuary. Tests of the cats' genes showed that they were the same newly discovered species. About 1.4 million years ago, this cat's ancestors separated from other tiger cat groups.

People in (5) communities had known about the animal for many years and called it tilcayo. Scientists chose to keep that name. They now hope to use camera traps to learn how many tilcayo tiger cats are still living in the wild, because their forest habitat is disappearing (6) .

Listen and Fill Gaps

Loading listening activity...

Discussion Builder

  1. Q: Why might a wildlife sanctuary be a useful place for scientists to learn about animals?

    A:

  2. Q: A camera trap can take pictures of animals without people being nearby. What animal would you like to photograph with a camera trap, and where would you put it?

    A:
Use It

Discussion Builder

Choose the best phrase for each gap:

  1. Q: Why might a wildlife sanctuary be a useful place for scientists to learn about animals?

    A: A wildlife sanctuary can be useful it gives scientists a safe place to study animals.

    because / although / unless

    A wildlife sanctuary can be useful because it gives scientists a safe place to study animals.

  2. Q: A camera trap can take pictures of animals without people being nearby. What animal would you like to photograph with a camera trap, and where would you put it?

    A: I'd like to photograph an otter. I'd put a camera trap near a river, otters often look for food.

    where / when / if

    I'd like to photograph an otter. I'd put a camera trap near a river, where otters often look for food.

Discussion Questions
  1. What is the most interesting thing about the tilcayo tiger cat: its small size, its spotted coat, its long history, or something else? Why?
  2. Why might a wildlife sanctuary be a useful place for scientists to learn about animals?
  3. A camera trap can take pictures of animals without people being nearby. What animal would you like to photograph with a camera trap, and where would you put it?
  4. Why can it be difficult to know how many animals of one species live in a forest?
  5. What kinds of wild animals live near your home?
  6. Some animals have features from their ancestors that help them live in particular places. What features do cats have that help them survive outdoors?
  7. Do you think there are many animal species that people have not discovered yet? Where might they live?
  8. Imagine you could give the tilcayo tiger cat a short, friendly name in your language. What name would you choose, and why?

Discussion Questions

  1. What is the most interesting thing about the tilcayo tiger cat: its small size, its spotted coat, its long history, or something else? Why?
  2. Why might a wildlife sanctuary be a useful place for scientists to learn about animals?
  3. A camera trap can take pictures of animals without people being nearby. What animal would you like to photograph with a camera trap, and where would you put it?
  4. Why can it be difficult to know how many animals of one species live in a forest?
  5. What kinds of wild animals live near your home?
  6. Some animals have features from their ancestors that help them live in particular places. What features do cats have that help them survive outdoors?
  7. Do you think there are many animal species that people have not discovered yet? Where might they live?
  8. Imagine you could give the tilcayo tiger cat a short, friendly name in your language. What name would you choose, and why?

Answers A New Wild Cat Found in Bolivia / Level 3

Listening: (1) unusual, (2) rounded, (3) noticed, (4) tissue, (5) nearby, (6) quickly

Main Idea: Scientists identified a new wild cat and want to learn how to protect it.

True or False:

  1. True. Scientists say the small, spotted cat lives in this region of Bolivia.
  2. False. He thought the animal was a domestic kitten. A scientist later noticed that its spots and tail were different from those of known tiger cats.
  3. True. Scientists tested tissue from both cats, and the gene tests showed they were the same new species.
  4. False. People in nearby communities had known the animal for many years and called it tilcayo, so scientists kept that name.

Multiple Choice: a, b, b

Vocabulary:

  1. wildlife: sanctuary
  2. cloud: forest
  1. camera: trap
  2. forest: habitat

New Sentences: 1. habitat; 2. domestic; 3. spotted; 4. camera trap; 5. wildlife sanctuary; 6. gene

Discussion Builder:

Hints: 1) Giving a reason. 2) Describing a place.

  1. because
  2. where

eslnewsstories.com