Likened to a house cat and teddy bear hybrid, Olin-guito (rhymes with mojito) is a most adorable new kid on the block. Actually a member of the racoon family (Procyondiae), the mysterious critter was, until very recently, totally unknown to science-hidden away in a drawer of museum junk. In addition to being unbearably cute, olinguito's discovery is really rather important-It is the first carnivore (it belongs to the order Carnivora) to be discovered in the Western hemisphere for 35 years. Though it had been observed in the wild, tucked away in museum collections and even exhibited in zoos, the fig-loving olinguito-formal name Bassari-cyon neblina-was a victim of mistaken identity for more than 100 years. But how did it escape detection for so long?
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