The animal is called an Olinguito and its description includes “looks kind of like a fuzzball."
It’s significant because it’s the first discovery of a new mammal in the Americas in nearly 40 years.
The Olinguito was initially thought to be another closely related species, the Olingo. Making the story even more intriguing is the fact an olinguto spent time in a zoo many years ago. At the time the zookeepers made the understandable mistake of thinking it was an olingo.
But after further study researchers realize the two are indeed separate and they made the announcement.
It was the Smithsonian's curator of mammals who called the olinguito "kind of like a cross between a teddy bear and a house cat."
Olinguitos are smaller than olingos and have faces that are more round. They also sport shorter tails, smaller ears, and thicker fur.
Olinguitos live in the trees in Colombia and Ecuador and are actually the smallest members of the raccoon family.
The little creatures are between two and three feet long and weight just two pounds.
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