New mammal species discovered: a raccoon-sized critter with teddy bear looks

WASHINGTON – U.S. researchers are announcing the rare discovery of a new species of mammal.

It is a raccoon-sized creature with a teddy bear face called the olinguito .

A Smithsonian researcher says it lives in the mountainous forests of Ecuador and Colombia where it leaps through the trees at night. It eats fruit and weighs about 2 pounds (1 kilogram).

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

The discovery was announced Thursday.