This is 100% real zoo-based research, guys.
Using perfume for scent enrichment isn’t new – it’s pretty common, especially for carnivores – but the idea to study engagement with scent enrichment as a way to facilitate better in-situ conservation research is a really cool new take.
“In 2005, a group of scientists from the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society were working with big cats at the Bronx Zoo, conducting perfume trials to figure out which scents would encourage cheek-rubbing in cheetahs, ocelots, snow leopards, and Amur tigers in order to apply their findings in the field. (…)
The researchers found that captive male cheetahs spent an average of almost 15 minutes in contact with objects sprayed with Obsession for Men. (…)
“Since big cats are so elusive and naturally rare, we use a variety of non-invasive techniques like camera trapping and hair snares to study their populations,” said Devlin in a follow-up email. “Researchers may sometimes apply a scent lure to a camera trap, for example, in the expectation that the unusual scent will pique the cat’s curiosity and the cat will linger in front of the camera trap. ”This longer observation period gives scientists a better chance of identifying individual jaguars by the rosette patterns on their fur, which are unique as a fingerprint, Devlin explained.She added that jaguars are drawn to Obsession for Men because they’re curious and want to mark their territory by adding their own scent through cheek-rubbing.”
It’s not the perfume itself that the cats are into, though – it’s the binder, which contains a synthetic version of a molecule found in civet scent-gland excretions.
Jaguars Literally Cannot Resist Calvin Klein’s ‘Obsession for Men’
A Middleground 