Crocodile-Like Reptiles Mysteriously Die In Indian River

New Delhi, India (AHN) - Some 21 gharials, or endangered crocodile-like reptiles, have died mysteriously in central India, alarming conservationists of possible "high bacterial content" in the Chambal River, one of the few unpolluted waters in the country.

The reptiles were found in the unpolluted waters of Chambal River over the last three days, the AP and ABC News reported.

Conservationists were alarmed over the deaths because 1,500 gharials remain alive in Chambal.

Chief Wildlife Warden D.N.S. Suman said the deaths of "such a large number of gharials is not common. There has to be something wrong with the river water," the AP added.

Scientists have attributed the deaths to the contamination of either the river's water or fish, the reptiles' main food as no injuries were found in any of the gharials.

"The water may have turned poisonous. We do not know why and how," said Alok Srivastava, of the Uttar Pradesh state Pollution Control Board.

Last September, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) reclassified the gharial, which is also known as the Indian crocodile, as "critically endangered" from "endangered", reported indianjungles.com.

There were 400 gharials in India in 2006. The number was reduced to 182 in 2007, 30 years after Project Gharial was halted, www.indianjungles.com added.