Authorities lure tiger to its death using Calvin Klein cologne
A tigress named T-1, infamous for killing people in the Pandharkawada region of India, was lured to its death with designer cologne.
A tigress named T-1, who authorities in India have been trying to capture for six months, was finally trapped and killed this month. T-1 has been linked to the deaths of 13 people since 2016.
T-1 is the mother of two cubs and, according to wildlife activists, only kills to protect her family. They argue that a tiger cannot be punished for the way it behaves in its own territory: "You go into that area on your own risk. How can you hold the tiger responsible?"
After exhausting several other resources in an attempt to catch the endangered predator, who hunters say had "developed a taste for sweet human meat", wildlife authorities finally turned to an unconventional method: luring the animal with designer cologne.
Calvin Klein's Obsession cologne contains a powerful ingredient called civetone, which has been "scientifically proven" to drive wild cats crazy. According to the New York Times, "they roll around it, they take huge sniffs, they luxuriate in the smell for several minutes". This made the luxury perfume the perfect trap for the tiger.
Civetone is usually used to coax animals closer to the camera during wildlife shoots, but this time it was used to bring T-1 out into the open so that she could be shot with a tranquilizer.
When T-1 charged at the group of people trying to capture her, they were forced to shoot and kill her. This course of action was sanctioned by India's Supreme Court who saw T-1 as a "habitual man-eater", and therefore a threat.
It is not common for a tiger to hunt humans, but it is believed that T-1 was pushed to this last resort due to the waning supply of traditional prey in the Pandharkawada region.
Image: Jeffrey Eisen