An Indian billionaire’s son has offered to help Colombia get rid of a problem it has grappled with for years – a herd of hippos linked to notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Escobar, who was shot dead by police in 1993, illegally imported exotic animals, including a male and a female hippopotamus – dubbed the “cocaine hippos”.
Their population grew and Colombia tried various methods of control – including castration – to no avail. It has decided to cull some 80 of the animals.
Anant Ambani – son of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani – says he is “willing to receive and care for” the animals at his private Vantara zoo in India’s Gujarat state. Colombia has not commented on the offer.
In a letter to Colombia’s environment minister, the CEO of Ambani’s zoo said they were ready to give the herd “lifelong care” in India.
The letter, published on the zoo’s Instagram account, said “at the heart of this proposal is Vantara’s belief that every life matters and that we have a shared responsibility to protect life wherever possible”.
Escobar kept the hippos at his ranch, Hacienda Nápoles – a luxury estate situated about 250km (155 miles) north-west of the capital Bogotá.
After his death, the pair were allowed to roam free and multiplied along the basin of Colombia’s main river, the Magdalena.
Efforts failed to contain the herd’s growth, with a lack of predators and the fertile and swampy Antioquia region providing perfect conditions for the native African animal to thrive.
Colombian environmentalists say the hippos, believed to be the biggest herd outside Africa, are an invasive species and have pushed away the native fauna.
Fishing communities along the Magdalena River have come under attack by hippos – one of the largest land animals, with adult males weighing up to three tonnes.
Vantara zoo is home to 2,000 species, including elephants, tigers and other animals.
Spread over 3,500 acres, it is located in Jamnagar, not far from Mukesh Ambani’s oil refinery – which is the largest in the world.
It was one of the venues for Anant Ambani’s lavish pre-wedding events that made global headlines in 2024.
The private zoo has drawn criticism from wildlife activists and conservationists for numerous reasons including the unsuitability of the region’s hot and dry climate for some of the animals.
