Vantara offers to rescue 80 hippos slated for cull in Colombia

Jamnagar: Vantara, the 3,500-acre wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, owned by Anant Ambani, has offered to take in 80 hippos scheduled for euthanasia in Colombia.

The offer comes after the Colombian government approved the cull on April 13, allocating 7,200 million pesos to regional environmental authorities Cornare, Corantioquia, Corpoboyacá and CAS to manage the population.

The hippos are descendants of animals imported by drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. With no natural predators, the population has grown rapidly and now threatens local ecosystems and communities.

Vantara said it would house the animals in “a specially designed and enriched environment” suited to the species. The centre, a project of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s son Anant Ambani, is equipped for large-scale wildlife care and rehabilitation.

Discussions with Colombian authorities are expected to follow as Vantara seeks permits for the translocation.