A Californian geography professor has used techniques for hunting endangered species to pinpoint three houses in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden could be hiding, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Using patterns of how animal species spread, the world’s most wanted terrorist can be tracked down to a town in the tribal region of North West Pakistan, claims Thomas Gillespie of the University of California in Los Angeles.

By factoring in Bin Laden’s need for security, electricity, high ceilings to accommodate his six-foot, four-inch frame, and spare rooms for his bodyguards, the search can be further narrowed to three walled compounds, he says.

Gillespie’s research, published in MIT International Review, concludes the most likely location is the town of Parachinar, 12 miles inside Pakistan, which housed many mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. By looking at his need for electricity for dialysis, high walls, spare rooms for his entourage, and trees to hide from prying eyes, satellite pictures show just three suitable houses.

But Kim Rossmo of Texas State University, who has worked with the military to find terrorists, told USA Today: “The idea of identifying three buildings in a city of half a million especially one in a country the authors have likely never visited is somewhat overconfident.”