Indian authorities plan on using Calvin Klein’s Obsession to capture a tigress

• In order to catch a tigress that’s been wreaking havoc in the Indian state of Maharashtra, authorities plan on using Calvin Klein’s Obsession for men to lure her in.
• The cologne composition includes a pheromone called civetone, known for attracting mammals in the cat family.
  
• The tiger has killed 13 people in the two years that it’s evaded capture.

A six-year-old tigress in the Indian state of Maharashtra has been causing grief and apparently, a Calvin Klein perfume is going to be the key to catching her. Officially called T-1 but nicknamed Avni, the mammal has already killed 13 people in the town of Pandharkawada. It's been two years that that she's been eluding the park authorities according to the BBC.

The plan is to track her down using a popular cologne manufactured by Calvin Klein, Obsession for Men. The science is simple. The cologne exudes a pheromone called civetone which is basically a chemical substance produced by animals that affects the behaviour of other animals of its species.

In this case, civetone is derived from a civet, a cat that is often confused for a monkey. It’s actually quite commonly used in other colognes as well.

In the past, the similar experiment was conducted at the Bronx Zoo in New York where the cologne was appreciated by the zoo’s resident jaguars.

Last resort

The tigress and her two 9-month old cubs roam a 150 sq km jungle that includes 5,000 inhabitants across 20 villages. And, they’ve been witness to 3 killings since August. In response, there have been a total of 100 camera traps set up, goats and horses have been used as bait and, as a last resort, sharpshooters have been sent to contain the mammal.

So far, all efforts have proved futile.

Animal activists are concerned that the authorities will end up shooting and killing the animal since the forest officials don’t possess the required expertise.

AK Misra, a forest official in the region, told the BBC that their intention isn’t to shoot, but if the tiger attacks then they’ll have no option but to defend themselves.

That being said, the supreme court of India already weighed in stating that it would not interfere if the animal was killed during capture.

Right now, officials have a team of 500 men on board to capture the tiger include a number of vets who’ve been equipped with tranquiliser darts. Other tools at their disposal include three cages, nylon and a selection of machines.

The unanswered question remains why is the tigress attacking humans the first place? While deforestation has taken away from their habitat and tigers do come in with contact with humans, few are this aggressive.

(Representative image; The only images of Avni are captured on the trap cameras put in place by the forest authorities.)