KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Reuters) - A rare male Malaysian crocodile has changed zoos as wildlife officials hope to spark reptilian romance by finding him a suitable partner.

Zoo authorities this week moved Jantan, a gharial crocodile 4.7 m (15 ft) long and weighing 470 kg (1,036 lb), from a southern zoo to a breeding centre in Malaysia's central state of Selangor to prepare for the session, the Star newspaper said.

Jantan is to be paired with four females of the same species in a habitat very similar to his natural home or he will not be able to breed, the paper quoted Abraham Mathew, a state veterinarian, as saying.

"There are some 2,000 crocodiles of this species left in southeast Asia and studies are still being conducted as to why its breeding is so difficult," Mathew added.

Jantan is believed to be 25 years old and has lived at the zoo since 1995. He belongs to a species that scientists call Tomistoma schlegelii, whose home is in swamps and rivers in lush jungles on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the paper added.

Gharial crocodiles are distinguished by their long, slender jaws, although, because of its vast size, Tomistoma is also known as the false gharial.

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