New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS): An injured nilgai (a type of antelope) that was rescued from near the premises of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in the national capital's Mandawali area, is currently being treated at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

The nilgai with an injured leg was spotted by a passer-by outside the DJB premises on Sunday evening. He immediately informed the Delhi Forest Department.

The Forest Department in turn contacted Wildlife SOS for reinforcements to conduct the rescue operation.

A joint operation conducted by officials of the Forest Department and Wildlife SOS later successfully rescued the animal using rescue equipment and safety nets.

"Agitated by its injury and the crowd that had gathered, the nilgai began scurrying across the busy road. It took the rescuers almost an hour to safely transport the distressed antelope to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, where it is currently receiving medical care," a statement from Wildlife SOS said on Monday.

CEO and Co-founder of Wildlife SOS, Kartick Satyanarayan, said: "The nilgai or blue bull is the largest Asian antelope, and this species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Due to their large size, rescue operations involving Nilgais need to be carried out with utmost caution. Wildlife SOS was able to assist the Forest Department with timely intervention and ensure the safety of this injured Nilgai."

Deputy Director-Special Projects for Wildlife SOS, Wasim Akram, said: "It took us almost an hour to carry out the rescue as we did not want to ambush the distressed animal. Nilgais straying into human dominated areas in Delhi NCR is not uncommon these days. We are grateful to the public for being sensitive to the plight of the injured animal."

Wildlife SOS is a non-profit charity established in 1998 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress across India. It also runs wildlife and nature protection projects to promote conservation, combat poaching and illegal trade of wild animals.

In January, the Forest Department had evacuated a nilgai from the park near Purana Qila and sent it to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

That time, the nilgai had strayed into the urban areas and was found roaming around that park for almost a month before it was picked up. Luckily, the animal was not injured.