Neal Tests Scent‑Based Deterrent to Keep Tigers and Leopards Away From Villages

In March 2025 a Bengal tiger in Nepal’s Khata Corridor approached a stake fitted with a dispenser that released a laboratory‑made version of a chemical used in big‑cat scent markings. The tiger investigated the scent and then turned back, a pattern repeated with other tigers, leopards and snow leopards. The experiment, part of an international effort to use territorial instincts as a non‑lethal deterrent, is still in its early phase. Researchers, including Cornell University’s Martin Gilbert, caution that a single reversal does not prove the method will stop livestock attacks. They are now testing whether the compounds can reliably alter predator behaviour across a wider range of encounters. Communities in Nepal’s buffer zones already rely on electric fences, flashing lights and other deterrents to protect livestock and farms.