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Scientists Use Calvin Klein Cologne to Lure Big Cats

Biologists can't speak on the effectiveness of Calvin Klein Obsession for Men on the cougars at your local bar, but they do know that jaguars love it. Rony Garcia and Jose Moreira from the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Jaguar Conservation Program use the cologne to attract jaguars in the jungles of Guatemala. "The method we are using to study the jaguars here in Guatemala is a non-invasive method which is based on photographing the individuals by using camera traps," Moreira says. "It has been very useful using Obsession (for Men) to get the jaguars in front of these camera traps ... and that allows us to estimate with greater confidence the genders and the numbers that live in each studied site."

44 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Unsurprisingly by eldavojohn · · Score: 1

    Sales of Calvin Klein's Obsession have plummeted in neighboring towns and cities as have jaguar rape incidents involving young men on their way to discotecas.

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Unsurprisingly by geirlk · · Score: 1

      I don't care who they like, as long as they stay away from me!

    2. Re:Unsurprisingly by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You know you have failed when you "make" a joke that's in the summary.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Unsurprisingly by toastar · · Score: 3, Funny

      I can't be bothered to read the summary, This is slashdot, which means I already heard the story yesterday anyway.

    4. Re:Unsurprisingly by Philip+K+Dickhead · · Score: 1

      I have been training Mynah birds to say "Heeere, Kitty, Kitty..."

      We plan to release them in major urban centers, worldwide.

      --
      "Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
    5. Re:Unsurprisingly by JosKarith · · Score: 1

      This only works cause Obsession smells like cat piss...

      --
      'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
  2. Sex Panther by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 4, Funny

    60% of the time, it works EVERY time...

    1. Re:Sex Panther by Em+Emalb · · Score: 1

      Ah, I love Anchorman:

      Brian Fantana: [about Veronica] I'll give this little cookie an hour before we're doing the no-pants dance. Time to musk up.
      [opens cologne cabinet]
      Ron Burgundy: Wow. Never ceases to amaze me. What cologne you gonna go with? London Gentleman, or wait. No, no, no. Hold on. Blackbeard's Delight.
      Brian Fantana: No, she gets a special cologne... It's called Sex Panther by Odeon. It's illegal in nine countries... Yep, it's made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good.
      Ron Burgundy: It's quite pungent.
      Brian Fantana: Oh yeah.
      Ron Burgundy: It's a formidable scent... It stings the nostrils. In a good way.
      Brian Fantana: Yep.
      Ron Burgundy: Brian, I'm gonna be honest with you, that smells like pure gasoline.
      Brian Fantana: They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time.
      [cheesy grin]
      Ron Burgundy: That doesn't make sense.
      Brian Fantana: Well... Let's go see if we can make this little kitty purr.

      --
      Sent from your iPad.
  3. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. by spun · · Score: 1

    But be careful, it's highly flammable.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  4. too much by hyperion2010 · · Score: 1

    Finally! A way to bump off those jackass who you can smell from a block away without getting caught.

  5. Yup, cougars like perfume by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yup, cougars like perfume...what else is new... they also like diamonds, fast cars, and rich guys.
    Oh, I guess I should RTFA.

    1. Re:Yup, cougars like perfume by fishexe · · Score: 1

      Yup, cougars like perfume...what else is new... they also like diamonds, fast cars, and rich guys. Oh, I guess I should RTFA.

      Forget RTFA, please for the love of God at least RTFS (summary) OR RTFD (discussion) where the cougar joke was already made, and its redundancy was already commented upon.

      --
      "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
    2. Re:Yup, cougars like perfume by AtomicOrange · · Score: 1

      There can be no redundancy of Cougar jokes, it's just not possible.

      --
      "What is there a tank on the boat? WHY IS THERE A TANK ON THE BOAT?!?" L4D2
  6. Cat got your number? by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Funny

    I foresee this being used in a highly successful ad campaign - until a half dozen male hikers disappear in Central America and some very fat jaguars, wearing tight-fitting jeans, are spotted in the vicinity.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Cat got your number? by egcagrac0 · · Score: 1

      The tight fitting jeans don't bother me nearly so much as the leopard print.

  7. Biologists by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

    They do some pretty weird things some times.

  8. Genders, eh? by clone53421 · · Score: 1

    "It has been very useful using Obsession (for Men) to get the jaguars in front of these camera traps ... and that allows us to estimate with greater confidence the genders and the numbers that live in each studied site."

    So... which gender seemed to like the cologne better?

    --
    Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    1. Re:Genders, eh? by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      "It has been very useful using Obsession (for Men) to get the jaguars in front of these camera traps ... and that allows us to estimate with greater confidence the genders and the numbers that live in each studied site."

      So... which gender seemed to like the cologne better?

      Perhaps it's not so much that the cats like the scent, but that they recognise that their prey would like the scent so they go there to wait for the prey to come along.

      Could also have similarity to the sweet stench of carrion.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Genders, eh? by Kenoli · · Score: 1

      The scent is highly unusual for them, so it captures their attention easily.
      It's probably not being associated with prey since it probably hasn't ever actually led them to prey.

    3. Re:Genders, eh? by The+Wild+Norseman · · Score: 1

      Could also have similarity to the sweet stench of carrion.

      "Try out Carrion For Men. It's what all Real Men wear when they're dying... to get laid."

      --
      "A government is a body of people usually -- notably -- ungoverned." -Shepherd Book
    4. Re:Genders, eh? by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      Good thing they’re just filming the cats, not hunting them... or curiosity killed the cat.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    5. Re:Genders, eh? by Entropius · · Score: 1

      When you're a jaguar, pretty much anything is prey. Any smell that you don't recognize is still probably something you can eat.

    6. Re:Genders, eh? by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 1

      Funny, yeah, but you know poachers will start using this trick, if they aren't already.

      --
      I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
  9. Axe body spray even better! by CodePwned · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My sister helps run the conservators center (www.conservatorscenter.org) of North Carolina who house 40+ lions and tigers. By accident the found out how effective it is when one of their volunteers wore it. The lions were moaning trying to rub against them through the cages. Unfortunately Axe body spray didn't think it was a good marketing item as their reply to me was "We thank you for your interest but we don't accept marketing ideas from the public".

    1. Re:Axe body spray even better! by fishexe · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately Axe body spray didn't think it was a good marketing item as their reply to me was "We thank you for your interest but we don't accept marketing ideas from the public".

      That's kind of odd, considering that's exactly the kind of ad they go for. That rejection notice was probably just cover for when they "think up" that exact same idea a year from now and use it.

      --
      "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
  10. How about one to lure female humans? by Lord+Juan · · Score: 1

    Advertisement would have us believe that some scents will lure the women out of hiding the way this cologne lure those Jaguars, if only...

    1. Re:How about one to lure female humans? by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 2, Funny

      Customer: "So, will this cologne get me some pussy?"
      Salesman, barely able to keep a straight face: "Yes sir, if you don't mind really big ones."

      Sorry, but it had to be said.

      --
      I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
  11. Zoos have been using Obsession for ages by zombie_striptease · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's apparently common to use fragrance (either sprayed perfume or scented magazine inserts) for "enrichment" of zoo animals so they don't get bored. A zookeeper maybe spritzes a log in the course of cleaning the tiger enclosure, and when the tigers come back in, they go nuts over this new smell, sniffing it repeatedly, rubbing against it, clawing at it etc.. I recall hearing that tigers go especially mental over Obsession and Charlie (probably all the musk).

    1. Re:Zoos have been using Obsession for ages by Princeofcups · · Score: 1

      It's apparently common to use fragrance (either sprayed perfume or scented magazine inserts) for "enrichment" of zoo animals so they don't get bored. A zookeeper maybe spritzes a log in the course of cleaning the tiger enclosure, and when the tigers come back in, they go nuts over this new smell, sniffing it repeatedly, rubbing against it, clawing at it etc.. I recall hearing that tigers go especially mental over Obsession and Charlie (probably all the musk).

      You mean trying to obliterate the smell by rubbing their own scent producing glands in their paws and cheeks on it? I don't think that means that they like the smell, or are "going mental" over it. It means that they don't like having that smell in their cage.

      --
      The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
  12. Civet cat's ass glands by JungleBoy · · Score: 2, Informative

    This works because many perfumes/colognes use the secretions from a Civet cat's ass glands as a fragrance or stabilizer. Any many that don't, use a very similar synthetic compound.

    --
    "You never know when some crazed rodent with cold feet might be running loose in your pants."
    -Calvin
    1. Re:Civet cat's ass glands by wiredlogic · · Score: 1

      It never ceases to amaze me how much people are willing to pay for what is literally shit to be applied to their body.

      --
      I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
    2. Re:Civet cat's ass glands by NotBornYesterday · · Score: 1

      Behold the power of marketing.

      --
      I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
    3. Re:Civet cat's ass glands by Psaakyrn · · Score: 1

      Or paying to drink shit for that matter.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civet_coffee

  13. Expensive solution by OopsIDied · · Score: 1
    1. Re:Expensive solution by SydShamino · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, ink from HP color inkjet catridges was also found to work, but they went with the cheaper solution...

      --
      It doesn't hurt to be nice.
  14. Works for cougars, too by aaandre · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Altho you don't really want to see those photos.

    1. Re:Works for cougars, too by OrangeMonkey11 · · Score: 1

      well, you do want to show them photos off if you bag yourself a really nice one

  15. Bad News For Jaguars by Vegan+Cyclist · · Score: 1

    Err...doesn't this also help people who want to go and hunt and kill jaguars..?

    I think it might have been wiser to keep this quiet to protect them. =(

  16. Austin Powers by operagost · · Score: 1

    Shaguar baby, YEAH!

    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  17. Perhaps it contains animal glandular material? by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1

    Perfumes often contain glandular material from animals, even from endangered species, and the perfume manufacturers keep the ingredients secret.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civet

    http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2306/does-civet-come-from-tortured-cats

  18. According to SNL it even works for dogs by Burz · · Score: 1
  19. So this just goes to show... by fishexe · · Score: 1

    ...that old Calvin was marketing to the wrong species all along.

    --
    "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
  20. That's my perfume ! by vikingpower · · Score: 1

    *grin Whoa. Now I understand where to hunt for girls: among the undergrad students toting panther / jaguar - skin design bags. Testing this for you today in the lobby of Austria's National Library

    --
    Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
  21. Re:Humans too by vikingpower · · Score: 1

    Correlation does not necessarily imply causation...

    --
    Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace