Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the mysterious deaths of 11 blackbucks in the Gir forest sanctuary in Saurashtra region of the state.
The bodies of 11 blackbucks were found by forest officials in the limits of Nana Hadmatiya and Kana Vadla villages in Junagadh district falling within the notified national park.
The bodies bore no marks of external injury and the forest officials believed the deaths could be a case of mass poisoning through water or fodder.
The forest officials' suspicion on water poisoning is linked to presence of artificial water holes in the park.
The water holes seem to have been created as if these were meant to lure the animals, said an official.
The forest officials have collected water samples and the mud from the holes for laboratory tests.
The local villagers often come in confrontation with the blackbucks as they move in groups and sometimes destroy their standing crops in the fields.
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