From Maharashtra to Telangana, Johnny travels over 300 km in search of mate

According to Forest officials, winter is a mating season for tigers. Some male tigers embark on long journeys in search of female tigers when they cannot find one in their territory

Adilabad: Tigers can wait patiently for a long time to hunt their prey. And they can travel longer distances to find a mate. That’s what Johnny, an adult make tiger from Kinwat in Nanded of Maharashtra, is doing.

According to Forest officials, winter is a mating season for tigers. Some male tigers embark on long journeys in search of female tigers when they cannot find one in their territory. They often accomplish their goal by forming a family. They leave the territory to the cubs and search for another territory.

---

Johnny’s journey in search of a mate has now clocked over 300 km, spanning Adilabad and Nirmal district in nearly 30 days. He began his journey in the third week of October.

“A 7-year-old tiger from Maharashtra has been searching for a mate for over a month. It has travelled more than 300 km so far. It is likely to find a female tiger residing in the forests of this region in a few days. Male tigers from Maharashtra migrate to the forests of erstwhile Adilabad district for a mate in every winter,” District Forest Officer Prashant B Patil told Telangana Today.

The officials said the tigers could smell a special scent released by female tigers from a distance around 100 km and spot the mates. They stated that male tigers could easily catch the scent and locate the female tiger.

Johnny has so far toured forests of Boath in Adilabad district, Kuntala, Sarangapur, Mamada and Pembi mandals of Nirmal district before entering Utnoor mandal. He killed five cattle in his journey. He also made three unsuccessful attempts to kill cows in this region till now. He was sighted crossing a road near Laltekdi village in Utnoor and was reportedly moving in Narnoor mandal, triggering panic among locals.

Forest officials, however, noted that the tigers searching for a mate would not harm humans and requested the public not to confront the tigers.