Vantara is one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centres, developed as a large-scale sanctuary focused on the care, treatment, and long-term protection of rescued animals.
New Delhi: Anant Ambani, son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has offered to take in hippos descended from animals originally introduced to Colombia by drug lord Pablo Escobar, proposing an alternative to plans to cull them.
He said he has formally urged the Colombian government to pause its decision to kill the animals, which have caused ecological disruption in parts of the country’s river systems.
Instead, he has proposed allowing a “safe, scientifically guided translocation” of the animals to a permanent facility at his wildlife centre Vantara, which he says could accommodate the group of around 80 hippos.
The large wildlife facility in India’s western state of Gujarat describes itself as “one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care, and conservation centres.”
Vantara is already home to hundreds of elephants, along with around 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards, and 900 crocodiles, according to India’s Central Zoo Authority.
However, experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the scale of animal intake at Vantara, including the import of critically endangered and rare species.
Pablo Escobar brought hippos—native only to Africa and capable of weighing several tonnes—to Colombia in the 1980s.
“These 80 hippos did not choose where they were born, nor did they create the circumstances they now face,” said Anant Ambani.
After the death of Pablo Escobar, hippos from his private zoo established a population along the Magdalena River in Colombia, where they adapted to the environment but also began to cause ecological concerns and occasional conflicts, including reported attacks on fishermen—prompting authorities to consider population control measures.
Anant Ambani, son of the chairman of multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, said he has submitted a detailed proposal to relocate the animals to a permanent home at the wildlife centre Vantara.
The facility is located near the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery Complex, which the company describes as the world’s largest crude oil refinery.
Summers in the region can be extremely hot, with temperatures often exceeding 40°C.
Ambani’s proposal outlines a veterinary-led plan for capture and transport, along with the development of a “purpose-designed naturalistic setting” for the hippos, according to a statement.
The statement added that the Vantara has the expertise, infrastructure, and commitment to support the initiative, fully aligned with Colombia’s conditions.
“These 80 hippos did not choose where they were born, nor did they create the circumstances they now face,” Anant Ambani said.
“They are living, sentient beings, and if we have the ability to save them through a safe and humane solution, we have a responsibility to try.”
