Rhino developed acute enteritis, shows report

The 11-year-old one-horned rhinoceros that died at National Zoological Park in Delhi on Thursday - just four months after arriving from Assam as part of an animal exchange programme - succumbed to acute haemorrhagic enteritis possibly caused by infection that took place after the animal's transfer.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

The male rhino, named Dharmendra, was found collapsed in its enclosure on Thursday morning. A postmortem examination conducted on Friday revealed the cause of death as acute haemorrhagic enteritis - a life-threatening inflammation of the intestines often caused by exposure to parasites, toxins or bacterial infections.

"The major findings of the post-mortem have revealed that it died due to acute haemorrhagic enteritis. The final reason of the death will be ascertained after lab investigations," said zoo director Sanjeet Kumar. A team from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly was called to inspect the animal and collect viscera samples on Thursday evening.