Calvin Klein Obsession for Men,attracts big cats

Calvin Klein Cologne Attracts Wild Cats and Other Animals

Analysis by Jennifer Viegas
Tue Jun 8, 2010 12:15 PM ET



Designers often advertise that their perfume and cologne products drive sniffers wild. But I think even Calvin Klein himself might be surprised to learn that his cologne, Obsession for Men, attracts jaguars, pumas and other wildlife, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

(Jaguar caught sniffing Calvin Klein Obsession for Men; Credit for all images: WCS)

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The WCS has just admitted that its researchers have been using the popular cologne to draw animals in front of remote cameras set up in the wilderness.

The cameras are triggered by an infra-red beam, permitting candid shots of animals as they come by to investigate.

One place where this technique is now being used is at the Maya Biosphere Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Central America. Animal experts there are trying to estimate populations of elusive jaguars.

Pat Thomas, General Curator of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo, came up with the unusual cologne-attractant technique. He settled on Calvin Klein Obsession for Men after discovering that the zoo's tigers, snow leopards and cheetahs were drawn to it more than any other commercially produced scent.

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The big cats rubbed, sniffed, pawed, and otherwise thoroughly enjoyed the designer cologne.

“Calvin Klein Obsession for Men clearly passes the sniff test among the WCS Bronx Zoo’s big cat population,” said Thomas. “More importantly, this work is a great example of how The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Living Institutions and Global Conservation Programs work together to save wildlife and wild places.”

As predicted, the cologne is doing a great job at attracting jaguars to the hidden camera setup.

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The images show individual jaguars lingering around a cloth treated with the cologne and repeatedly sniffing it. One pair of jaguars even shows some very rarely seen mating behavior, so the smell seems to turn these animals on.

"Jaguars are highly elusive creatures and for years WCS researchers struggled to develop more effective methods for estimating how many jaguars were in the forest, hidden amongst the ancient Maya temples,” said Roan McNab, WCS Guatemala Country Director. “Now, due to the fact that jaguars love Obsession for Men, WCS field conservationists are getting more precise estimates of jaguar populations.”

Based on the photos released by the WCS, the cologne also attracts pumas, ocelots, tapirs, peccaries and coatis.

To see candid camera video of the jaguars Download Jaguar&ObsessionInYaloch09

http://news.discovery.com/animals/calvin-klein-cologne-attracts-wild-cats-and-other-animals.html