Billionaire’s son affords residence for hippos that escaped Pablo Escobar’s zoo after authorities threatened to kill them

An Indian billionaire’s son has offered to take hippos that descend from those introduced to Colombia by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar – after hearing the animals would otherwise be killed.

Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said he had formally requested the Colombian government to reconsider a decision to kill the animals, which have wreaked havoc on rivers in the South American nation.

Instead, he has asked to allow the ‘safe, scientifically led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home’ at his Vantara animal centre.

The vast zoo in India‘s western state of Gujarat bills itself as ‘one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centres’.

Vantara is already home to hundreds of elephants, as well as 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, among other animals, according to India’s Central Zoo Authority.

Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara’s massive animal intake, including the import of critically endangered and rare species.

Escobar brought hippos – which are native only to Africa and can weigh up to several tonnes – to Colombia in the 1980s.

After Escobar’s death, hippos from his private zoo made a new life in the lush river banks of Colombia’s Magdalena River – where they have attacked fishermen, prompting moves to cull them.

Anant Ambani, son of the billionaire head of the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, said he had submitted a detailed plan to give the animals a new home at Vantara.

The animal centre is sited alongside the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery Complex, which the conglomerate says is the world’s largest crude oil refinery.

Summers there can get extremely hot, with temperatures soaring above 40C.

Ambani’s proposal sets out a veterinary-led capture and transport, as well as the creation of a ‘purpose-designed naturalistic setting’ for the hippos, according to a statement.

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

‘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.’

Colombian officials said earlier this month that dozens of hippos roaming freely would be killed. 

Environment Minister Irene Vélez said the decision was reached because other methods to control their population have been expensive and unsuccessful, including neutering some of the animals or moving them to zoos.

Velez said that up to 80 hippos would be affected by the measure. She did not say when the hunting would begin. 

‘If we don’t do this we will not be able to control the population,’ Vélez said. ‘We have to take this action to preserve our ecosystems.’ 

Despite the environmental challenges posed by Escobar’s hippos, the animals have also become a tourist attraction, with residents of the villages surrounding the late drug lord’s estate Hacienda Nápoles, now offering hippo-spotting tours and selling hippo-themed souvenirs.

The hippos are also one of the main attractions at the Nápoles ranch, which was confiscated by Colombia’s government as it seized Escobar’s properties.

It now functions as a theme park, featuring swimming pools, water slides and a zoo that includes several other African species.

Animal welfare activists in Colombia have long opposed proposals to kill the hippos, arguing they deserve to live, and adding that addressing the problem through violence sets a poor example for a country that has gone through decades of internal conflict.

Over the past 12 years, a period spanning three different presidential administrations, Colombia has tried to neuter some of the hippos in a bid to reduce their population.

But these initiatives have had a limited scope, due to the high costs that come with capturing the dangerous animals and performing surgeries on them.

Because Colombia’s hippos come from a limited gene pool and could carry diseases, taking them back to their natural habitat in Africa is also unfeasible.