Anant Ambani has offered to relocate 80 hippos from Colombia to Vantara, the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, and urged authorities there to halt plans to cull the animals.
The hippos are descendants of animals brought to Colombia in the 1980s by drug lord Pablo Escobar for his private estate. After his death, the animals were left behind and their population has grown rapidly over the years. Officials estimate there are now more than 200 hippos in the country.
Colombian authorities have said the animals pose a threat to the local environment and nearby communities. With no natural predators in the region, the hippos have multiplied quickly and are considered an invasive species. The government has therefore approved a plan to euthanise around 80 of them as part of population control efforts.
Ambani, who leads Vantara and is an executive director at Reliance Industries, has reportedly written to Colombian authorities offering a different solution. He said the animals should be given a humane alternative and proposed relocating them to India, where they could be cared for in a protected environment.
According to reports, Vantara has offered to handle the cost and logistics of the transfer. The facility says it has the space, veterinary support and specialised infrastructure needed to care for large animals such as hippos.
Vantara has gained international attention for its wildlife rescue and rehabilitation work, housing and treating animals from India and abroad. The proposed transfer of dozens of hippos, however, would be a highly complex operation involving international transport permissions, quarantine procedures and long-distance movement of large wild animals.
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