two blackbuck antelopes have died and two rhinos are in critical condition after drinking sewage water that flowed into their enclosures at New Delhi's main zoo, a news report said Thursday. The antelopes died over the past week after a sewage pipe became blocked following heavy monsoon rains and dirty water overflowed into their enclosure, Press Trust of India news agency reported. Officials at New Delhi's National Zoological Park said autopsies revealed intestinal infections, which had been caused by drinking contaminated water. Sewage water also entered the moat surrounding the rhino pen and two rhinos drank sewage-tainted water and fell critically ill, the news report said. Efforts were ongoing to check the pipes and ensure sewage water does not flow back into the zoo, Jairam Ramesh, federal environment minister, said Wednesday. Kartick Satyanarayan, a wildlife expert, said another wallowing pool was created for the rhinos so they did not have to drink water from the moat. A team of veterinarians and wildlife experts was to visit the zoo to investigate the deaths of the blackbucks. Nearly 100 antelopes remain in the zoo. The blackbuck, or Antilope cervicapra, is found mainly in India, Nepal and Pakistan. The male blackbuck has distinctive long, twisted horns.
