Anant Mukesh Ambani has asked Colombia to pause plans to cull 80 hippopotamuses and to consider relocating them to his wildlife centre in India, offering to fund and manage the transfer. In a letter to Colombia’s environment minister, Irene Vélez Torres, Ambani — an executive director at Reliance Industries and founder of Vantara — proposed a “scientifically led” translocation of the animals from the Magdalena River basin to Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
A Vantara press statement said Ambani “has formally asked the Government of Colombia to stay that decision and consider a humane alternative: a safe, scientifically led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home at Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat.”
Colombian authorities recently approved the lethal removal of 80 hippos from a rapidly growing population that descends from animals introduced in the 1980s. The hippos are now considered invasive because of risks to biodiversity and to local communities; the Magdalena basin is estimated to host about 200 hippos.
Vantara said it would provide veterinary expertise, capture and transport logistics, biosecurity measures and lifelong care at a purpose-built facility designed to replicate the hippos’ natural habitat. Ambani told Colombian officials the animals “did not choose where they were born” and argued a humane relocation should be pursued if it is practicable.
The proposal requests that Colombia defer the scheduled cull while authorities review the relocation plan. Any transfer would require approvals from the Colombian and Indian governments and relevant international bodies. Vantara said it is prepared to work with Colombian authorities to develop a detailed operational plan as part of a broader, science-led conservation approach.
