Meet The Newest Cute Animal Of 2016!

Red pandas? Done. Quokkas? Yawn. Pikas? Boooring. Here are six reasons why you need to know about the olinguito.

1.

Smithsonian / Via insider.si.edu

The discovery of the olinguito was only just announced in 2013, meaning this cutie is ready to take over the internet!

2.

Smithsonian / Via insider.si.edu

It looks like a cross between a cat and a teddy bear. 'Nuff said.

3.

CNN / Via cnn.com

It is an adept jumper that can leap from tree to tree in the forest canopy. Skillzzz!

4.

Smithsonian Magazine / Via smithsonianmag.com

Scientists hope that the olinguito might serve as a charismatic ambassador for the conservation of dwindling Andean cloud forest habitats. How can anyone say no to that face?

5.

Apex Expeditions / Via apex-expeditions.com

As Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, says, “The discovery of the olinguito shows us that the world is not yet completely explored, its most basic secrets not yet revealed. If new carnivores can still be found, what other surprises await us? So many of the world’s species are not yet known to science. Documenting them is the first step toward understanding the full richness and diversity of life on Earth.”

6.

LEE & LOW BOOKS, illus. by Lulu Delacre / Via leeandlow.com

Learn even more about the olinguito and its habitat in ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! Descubriendo el bosque nublado /Olinguito, from A to Z! Unveiling the Cloud Forest, a new bilingual alphabet book from LEE & LOW BOOKS.

Award-winning author and illustrator Lulu Delacre uses lyrical text in both Spanish and English to take readers to the magical world of a cloud forest in the Andes of Ecuador. Discover the bounty of plants, animals, and other organisms that live there, and of course help a zoologist look for the elusive olinguito!