Recently, the A&E Department has been doing some intriguing research. You might even call it aromatic.
The theory is that Calvin Klein’s fragrance OBSESSION for men can be used to attract wildlife.
Naturally, after reading an article saying that the fragrance attracted jaguars, Dr. Nicodemus had to find out more, he said. After looking into it further, he found that the fragrance has been used to attract a variety of wildlife species. From there, the obvious thing to do was to try it out.
Several students got involved in the project. Reece Wells, Catherine Longest and Bryce Gerlach took the lead on the research portion of the project with the help of Dr. Nicodemus and Will Morales. Mike Keenan, Austin Mason, Ashton Martin, Anna Watson, Ingrid Rojas, Reed Foster and Heather Isbell were some of the students that helped with the field work.
Their research found that OBSESSION worked as a lure for coyotes significantly better than a commonly used lure of bobcat urine. The results were not as conclusive for any other species of wildlife.
Dr. Nicodemus said this was only a pilot study and that there will likely be another study done in the fall, following up on what they learned.