Second, females may actually stop emitting male-enticing pheromones after they have mated. This occurs in the gypsy moth, so the pregnant female can flutter away without being pestered by other amorous males (Lymantria dispar).
— From Male animals can 'smell' whether a potential partner is a virgin or not at Sify News.
The folks at the San Diego Zoo want your "old or unused cologne and perfume":
The Behavioral Biology Division of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is currently conducting a research project examining individual and species enrichment preferences for large felids (lions, tigers, and cheetahs) at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (see post, Big Cat Preferences, Part 2). Based on some preliminary results, we are interested in learning more about different scents (perfumes) that attract the animals and promote the behavior of exploration.
For information about how to donate, go here. Many thanks to odonata9 for the link!
See also: Tiger Bait, Not Just For Tigers, Curious, unpredictable, and mischievous
Squirrels douse themselves with rattlesnake scent as a safety measure, scientists suggest, and likely have done so for at least 18 million years.
— Read more at Rattlesnake perfume a longtime squirrel safety measure at USA Today.
To wine and dine Sasha, a 450-pound Siberian tiger at the Bronx Zoo, try serving beef and rabbit. To lure him for a snack, whip out the frozen treats his zookeepers call "bloodcicles." But to really get his olfactory engines running, you need the secret weapon: Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men.
— From Big Cats Obsess Over Calvin Klein's 'Obsession for Men' at the Wall Street Journal.
The idea of having a signature scent attracts me. I love thinking that when someone catches a whisper of Guerlain Vol de Nuit he thinks of me, or that my friends associate me with the warm, entrancing aroma left on my coat or suffusing my bedroom. But hey, that’s not going to happen. I haven’t counted lately, but my number of “signature” scents is probably pushing 100.
Now, though, I have a new justification. When I see someone’s eyes start to pop at the sight of my perfume cabinet, I have the perfect reply. “Of course I have lots of perfume,” I’ll say. “Why? For ‘enrichment’, of course.”
To explain, let me take a step back. I have a friend, Ann Littlewood, who used to be a zookeeper. Now she writes terrific mystery novels that take place in the fictional Finley Memorial Zoo. When she heard I like perfume, she mentioned she used to spray fragrance in the tigers’ dens at the zoo. I asked her what perfume she sprayed, and why, and she sent me an answer by email…