Kenya on Tuesday called in more foreign experts to probe the deaths of nine black rhinos at the Tsavo East National Park in the southwestern part of the country.

Najib Balala, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, told journalists in Nairobi that the government has decided to have through investigations into the matter carried out by an external and independent team in order to obtain credible results.

"A team of experts from the United Kingdom and South Africa will augment existing human capacity to ensure Kenya comes up with a comprehensive report on the cause of death of the black rhinos by next week," Balala said.

He has directed that the 18 rhino horns with transmitters and chips from the dead rhinos to be secured to avoid illegal trade.

Balala said the first animal died on July 3 and currently only two female black rhinos have survived the translocation exercise.

According to a preliminary report by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the translocated rhinos died after consuming water from a borehole that had high levels of saline.

KWS Acting Director General Julius Kimani said that the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) had given approval for the translocation procedure last year.

"However extreme weather conditions such as drought and floods caused a delay in the movement of the black rhinos," he said.

The KWS said a sample of the special food that was consumed by the black rhinos is currently being analyzed by government chemists to rule out the possibility of food poisoning.

He noted that another possible cause of death is the side effects of the veterinary medicine that was given to the endangered species during the translocation.

The ministry of tourism has also not ruled out the possibility of heat stroke as behind the death of the black rhinos.

The KWS has since banned the translocation of rhinos indefinitely as the government determines the cause of the deaths.