Guwahati: The Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden is planning to bring a male tiger by air after a gap of almost a decade.

Divisional forest officer of the zoo, Tejas Mariswamy, told The Telegraph that the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has given the go-ahead. "We are planning to bring the tiger by air, but it all depends on funding," he said.

There are four female tigers in the Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden and there is a need for a male.

"The tiger will come from Mysore zoo," Mariswamy said. He also said the tiger, in all probability, should be here next month.

The last male tiger - Lachit - was brought to the zoo here in 2005.

Lachit passed away in June last year. The average lifespan of a tiger varies between 14 and 16 years.

Mariswamy said the zoo will give a leopard cat, a barking deer (Muntjacs), a Sangai deer and pelican to the Mysore zoo for which, a no-objection is required from the state government.

He said in the last week of December, Singapore Zoo curator Juan Carnejo visited Assam State Zoo and is in talks regarding the possible exchange of animals .

According to the CZA, exchange proposals submitted by zoos are decided primarily on the basis of the housing and upkeep facilities available at the recipient zoo and the viability of the species population group at the donating zoo. It also looks at the track record of the zoos with regard to success in breeding and healthcare while upkeep is given proper weightage.

In July 2016, the zoo had received a pair of Asiatic lions - one male and one female - and six mouse deer from the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.