If you thought that finding Mr Right or Ms Right was complicated enough in the world of humans, just think about the plight of the hundreds of wild animals housed in zoos across India. In what seems like a move to facilitate the matchmaking process, the Central Zoo Authority of India has signed up as a member of the US-based International Species Information System (ISIS), a global network, which enables the 700 members affiliated under it to exchange information about the animals living in zoos in these countries. P.L. Ananthaswamy, director of Arignar Anna Zoological Park says, "This is a welcome step taken by the government. The network comprises a highly organised database of zoos where all details of the animals under its protection is maintained with records. This helps in diagnosing their diseases and also in finding the right mates for them by interacting with the experts who handle them. Basically, the entire system is a platform for sharing information." With several animals poised on the brink of extinction, the prime concern of the administrators in the zoological parks has been finding a mate for these endangered species. Of course, Anna Zoological park has been successful in breeding wild dogs, lion-tailed macaques and the reticulate python through the animal exchange programme. The director elaborates, "There are several formalities that have to be taken care of before an animal is transferred to meet its potential mate. The process of finding a mate for an animal is exhaustive exercise." It has plans to introduce an elephant safari, for which two giant tuskers have already been shipped from Topslip in the Indira Gandhi National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Coimbatore and proposals for the night safari are on. B.R. Sharma, the member secretary of the Central Zoo Authority of India says, "Hundreds of zoos from around the world with over 4,000 species in their database - that's the number of animals we can access right now. To maintain the 62-odd zoos around the country that is home to thousands of species in a developing nation is a mammoth task. It was pointless to go searching for a healthy mate for a particular species throughout the length and breadth of the country when you have a readymade list with your neighbouring nations. That is what makes the ISIS an important channel." With that being the big picture, consider Chennai, which houses about 171 species. He further adds, "Already we have lost several species. A few of them are on the brink of extinction and it would be a disaster to lose them. It is high time we came up with establishing links with the countries abroad." Education officer of WWF, S. Anand says, "The government has been coming up with several conservation programmes to combat the problem of extinction. This new addition to their list will help in more ways than one." He explains, "This international system will not only help in keeping track of the perfect mate, but also help in preventing animals from dying."