Nepal Tests Artificial Scent Technology to Deter Tigers and Leopards from Livestock Areas

A new technology using artificial scents is being tested in Nepal to prevent tigers and leopards from entering human settlements and livestock areas. The aim is to influence the behavior of predatory animals by dispersing laboratory-created versions of chemical substances that wildlife use to mark their territory and communicate with each other, using small devices.

This research, a collaboration between Cornell University in the United States, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Nepal, and local forest authorities, is working on the concept of creating invisible boundaries using biological scents, known as ‘Bio-Boundaries’. Researchers began testing 10 chemical substances in October 2024 along the 13-kilometer (8-mile) long Khata Biological Corridor, which connects Bardia National Park in Nepal to the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India. Both centers where the substances were used and control centers were established for the test.