Today is the tenth class in your current thirteen class set. Our reading today is about finding your ‘why.’ Our listening material is about hunting tigers with perfume. As a scientist you might find this interesting.
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LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
Wildlife authorities are trying to catch a man-eating tiger in India. So far, the tiger has managed to evade capture for more than two years. But the secret to success might be right under wildlife officials' noses. WEEKEND EDITION's very own Samantha Balaban reports.
SAMANTHA BALABAN, BYLINE: The tiger, known as T1, may have killed more than a dozen people so far in the state of Maharashtra. Wildlife authorities have pulled out all the stops trying to catch T1 and her two cubs. According to the BBC, authorities have placed more than 100 camera traps in the forest. Horses and goats have been tied to trees as bait. Rangers watch from treetop platforms. Policemen armed with guns patrol the forests. Even elephants have been deployed. But one thing that might work - perfume.
PRAYAG H.S.: There has been research done using three perfumes. One was Chanel No. 5, and (unintelligible) Jovan Musk. And the third was C.K. Obsession.
BALABAN: That's right. Chanel No. 5, Jovan Musk and Calvin Klein's Obsession. Dr. Prayag H.S. is a wildlife veterinarian. He first used Obsession to lure a leopard in 2013 after hearing about studies, one at the Bronx Zoo, showing that large cats were attracted to the scents. Any of the three perfumes would have worked. But Dr. Prayag is budget conscious.
PRAYAG: Since C.K. Obsession was comparatively cheaper to purchase, I went with C.K. Obsession.
BALABAN: Two years later, Dr. Prayag successfully captured his first man-eating tiger using Obsession. And now he's been in touch with wildlife authorities to suggest that they try the perfume on T1, as well. Here's the science.
MANDY AFTEL: The perfume contains something called civet, which is an animal ingredient that the civet cat, it's called, uses for marking territory.
BALABAN: Mandy Aftel is a perfumer and author of the book "Fragrant: The Secret Life Of Scent."
AFTEL: It's a very old perfume ingredient. It was in the Bible and written about by Shakespeare.
BALABAN: Aftel says Calvin Klein's Obsession, as well as Chanel No. 5 and Jovan Musk, all contain a synthetic version of that civet musk. It's called civetone.
AFTEL: It's very musky, but it's referred to also as a fecal floral.
BALABAN: Which is a nice way of saying...
AFTEL: Smells like poop, really. Poop. It's funk. It's the funk in spades. It's very funky. But when it's diluted, it becomes very floral. It's kind of a miracle of transformation.
BALABAN: And cats go crazy for it.
AFTEL: I happened to have catnip as an oil. But I have civet as an oil. And my cat loved the civet when I would open the bottle of civet. And if he was around, he would just, you know, rub up against it and be completely interested and transfixed by it.
BALABAN: Aftel says there's a long history of using scent to lure animals in the wild.
AFTEL: Many animals are interested and driven by their sense of smell, more so than we are. And so you'll see all kinds of things used for lures.
BALABAN: Dr. Prayag says he doesn't know why authorities in Maharashtra haven't tried using Obsession yet. He has.
PRAYAG: I do. Like, I use it, actually. And it's quite - it gives a pleasant smell, (unintelligible) a musky odor. And it's, like, a nice feeling.
BALABAN: Don't worry. He doesn't wear it in the forest. Samantha Balaban, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOSIE BORAIN: In the kingdom of passion, the ruler is Obsession. Calvin Klein's Obsession.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Oh, the smell of it.