“Using Scent Attractants to Non-Invasively Collect Hair Samples from Cheetahs, Leopards and Lions”, 2005 (; backlinks):
The goal of this project was to document the responses of free-ranging cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and other large African felids to novel scents in an attempt to refine methods for surveying felid populations. Specifically, the purpose of the study was:
To ascertain whether African felids are attracted to novel scents. While captive cats are drawn to a wide variety of fragrances, we wanted to assess the response of free-ranging felids to novel scents where they might (1) explore scents because they are unfamiliar and interesting, or (2) avoid scents because they might be associated with human activity.
Assess whether these scents would elicit rubbing responses that could be used to facilitate the collection of hair samples from African felids. If successful, this technique could be used as an effective tool to non-invasively collect hair samples for genetic analyses.
…we first conducted trials with captive cheetahs in the Bronx Zoo. Following those trials, we tested the responses of wild cheetahs (as well as leopards and lions) in situ in South Africa. We experimented with a variety of commercially available perfume and colognes applied to hair traps.
…24 different perfumes and colognes previously tested on the zoo’s Amur tigers, Panthera tigris altaica (n = 6 animals) and snow leopards, Uncia uncia (n = 14 animals) were used during the study.
…While nearly all the perfumes and colognes were investigated, only 7 (29.2%) of the 24 scents elicited a powerful rubbing response (Figure 3).
…Field Study: …Only one of 8 opportunistic tests produced an observable behavioral response, from a female leopard that was at rest when located (Table 2). After spraying a tree ~50 m from her, she got up, walked directly to the tree, and sniffed the spot that had been sprayed. Almost immediately she sneezed several times and left. She did not cheek rub the site. In none of the opportunistic trials did any of the species deliberately move away or avoid an area that had been sprayed with a scent.
…The field study showed that certain perfumes and colognes elicited cheek rubbing behavior in free-ranging African felids, although their rate of response was dramatically lower than what was observed with captive animals. While the behavior of the cats indicated that they were not alarmed by the scents and they did not actively avoid them, their response was at best ambivalent. Even adolescent lions and leopards, which might be expected to be more inquisitive, largely ignored freshly deposited perfumes and colognes. This is surprising given the natural curiosity of felids towards novel items and the dramatic responses recorded in captive individuals. One possible explanation is that cats in the wild are presented with a such a wide range of stimuli that novel scents are not worth investigating unless they are associated with conspecifics, food or other more ‘relevant’ factors.