Adorable new mammal species found 'in plain sight'

[William769]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers are announcing the rare discovery of a new species of mammal.

It's a raccoon-sized creature with a teddy bear face called the olinguito (oh-lihn-GEE'-toe).

A Smithsonian researcher says it lives in the mountainous forests of Ecuador and Columbia where it leaps through the trees at night. It eats fruit and weighs about 2 pounds.

One of them also once lived at the National Zoo in Washington where it was mistaken for a similar animal.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/23145868/adorable-new-mammal-species-found-in-plain-sight

[blogslut]

1. I will hug him,

and stroke him, and cuddle him, and sing to him, and call him George.

[William769]

2. ...

[snooper2]

6. Make sure you have plenty of coca leaves on hand

You see those eyes?


You don't want to be around when it's time for another fix

[michigandem58]

7. ....and get your face bit...

[joeybee12]

3. That is one adorable face!

[arely staircase]

4. I bet that thing could rip someone's face off. nt

[Arugula Latte]

5. Sure, if you're a mango.

[cthulu2016]

9. It's a carnivore

[Arugula Latte]

12. Yes ... Watch out, insects!

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. And now they know why she wasn't mating

The animal – which has been described as a cross between a teddy bear and a house cat – had been displayed in museums around the globe and exhibited at numerous US zoos for decades without scientists grasping that it had been mislabelled.

One adult female, named Ringerl, was kept at Louisville zoo in the 1960s, but was moved to Tucson zoo, to the Smithsonian's National zoo, and to the Bronx zoo after keepers repeatedly failed in their attempts to breed the animal. The reason for that failure is now clear: it was a different species to the mates on offer.

The true identity of the overlooked beast only emerged after Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, launched a 10-year investigation into an obscure group of raccoon-like mammals called olingos. What began with a drawer-full of remains ended with a nighttime trek through the cloud forests of Ecuador, where scientists photographed the creature living in the trees.
...
The animal had been mistaken for an olingo because of some broad similarities, but these turned out to be superficial. Helgen's animal was different on almost every measure: it was smaller, much furrier, had a shorter tail, different teeth, and smaller ears. "We are not talking about splitting hairs. If you saw the two animals side by side you would wonder how they could ever be confused," Helgen said.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/15/teddy-bear-olinguito-ecuador-carnivore

[NRaleighLiberal]

10. sounds like a menu item from a south Philly restaurant!

very cute - looks kind of lemur-like (my daughter took lots of good pics of lemurs in her peace corps tour of madagascar)

[TeeYiYi]

11. k+r ...nt

TYY

[MadrasT]

13. SQUEEEEE.

[tblue37]

14. Just 2 pounds! That's the middle of the size range for

little girl ferrets (1.5 to 2.5 pounds). They are like a puff in the wind.

I have had female ferrets (and once a male ferret) as pets. They are tiny, charming, absolutely adorable--and this little creature looks adorable, too.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

15. DU Rec

[DevonRex]

16. Oooh. Sooo cute. Too cute. omg. nt

[Aerows]

17. What a cutie-pie!

He's precious

[theHandpuppet]

18. More on the olinguito plus other newly discovered species!

http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-sn-olinguito-new-mammal-20130815,0,3251568.story

Check out the album of some newly discovered species from 2012. Wow -- I was amazed. Photo album at link above.