BENGALURU: The baiting of the maneater tiger named T1 in Maharashtra with Calvin Klein perfume has made international headlines. The elusive big cat , which has killed nine people so far, is yet to sniff its way into the cage but HS Prayag, a Karnataka-based veterinarian, is hopeful. Prayag was the first to employ the perfume technique in the country to catch a leopard in Mandya and has been coordinating with officials in Maharashtra this time round.It was in 2015 that Prayag set out to catch the leopard in Maddur taluk of Mandya. “The leopard was tagged a maneater in 2013. Villagers claimed it had killed a farmer named Shivaraj, though later it was found that he was murdered. The villagers were so angry against the authorities that they had blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway to make their voice heard. The Karnataka forest department decided to capture the leopard, but it remained elusive for two years despite the best efforts of forest officials. Leopards are by nature elusive and this one’s non-uniform movement also posed a challenge,” he said.The forest officials tried placing a bait in the cage but the leopard never turned up. “I had read about perfume being used to lure big cats in foreign countries. I procured it from a dealer and sprayed it on the bait. It worked and in December 2015, we captured the leopard. I then worked with Tamil Nadu foresters to catch a tiger in Gudalur with the same technique,” he said.THE BIG CATCH: HS Prayag has asked forest officials to use only original perfume as big cats don’t fall for fakesThe perfume in question is Calvin Klein’s ‘Obsession (For Men)’. The key ingredient is a synthetic version of the musk secreted by the civet cat.Prayag, who is researching big carnivores, is now helping foresters in Maharashtra and Telangana where tiger capture operations are on. While the search in Telangana is for K4, a tigress with a snare cutting through her stomach, T1, if captured, faces life in a zoo.Prayag told TOI that he is in touch with the deputy conservator of forests of Pandharkawada, Maharashtra, after they approached him about alternative techniques to capture the tiger. “Wildlife authorities there tried bait-and-cage methods, taking help of camp elephants, drones, camera traps, foot patrolling etc but did not get results,” he said.His advice to officials: buy the original perfume from a reliable seller; no big cat falls for the fakes sold cheap on some ecommerce portals.

Stay updated with all the Bangalore Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.