Anant Ambani offers to relocate Pablo Escobar’s hippos from Colombia to India

NEW DELHI: Anant Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has offered to take in hippos in Colombia descended from animals once kept by drug lord Pablo Escobar, instead of allowing them to be killed.

According to Dawn, Ambani said on Tuesday that he had formally asked the Colombian government to halt a decision to cull the animals, which have caused disruption in rivers in the South American country. He said he had proposed a “safe, scientifically-led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home” at his Vantara animal centre in India.

Vantara, located in the western Indian state of Gujarat, describes itself as “one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centres”. According to India’s Central Zoo Authority, the facility houses hundreds of elephants as well as 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, among other animals.

Experts have repeatedly raised concerns over Vantara’s large-scale intake of animals, including the import of rare and critically endangered species.

Escobar brought the hippos, an animal native only to Africa and capable of weighing several tonnes, to Colombia in the 1980s. After his death, the animals from his private zoo established themselves along the banks of Colombia’s Magdalena River. They have attacked fishermen, leading to moves to cull them.

Ambani, whose father heads the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, said he had submitted a detailed plan for relocating the animals to Vantara. The centre is situated next to the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery Complex, which the conglomerate has said is the world’s largest crude oil refinery.

Summers in the area can be extremely hot, with temperatures rising above 40 degrees Celsius.

According to a statement, Ambani’s proposal includes veterinary-led capture and transport arrangements, along with the development of a “purpose-designed naturalistic setting” for the hippos.

“Vantara has the expertise, infrastructure and resolve to support this effort, entirely on Colombia’s terms,” the statement said.

Ambani also said the animals should not bear the consequences of circumstances beyond their control.

“These 80 hippos did not choose where they were born, nor did they create the circumstances they now face,” Ambani added. “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.”