Anant Ambani, the son of Mukesh Ambani — Asia's richest man — has formally offered to take in around 80 hippos descended from animals originally imported by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, urging the Colombian government to halt a planned cull of the animals. The offer, published on the Instagram account of Ambani's private Vantara zoo in Jamnagar, Gujarat, in western India, stated that "every life matters and that we have a shared responsibility to protect life wherever possible." Colombia has not yet responded to the proposal.
The hippos' unusual history stretches back to Escobar himself, the head of the Medellín cartel and the so-called "cocaine king," who was shot dead by police in 1993 after amassing an estimated $30 billion fortune through drug smuggling and a reign of violence that included kidnappings, bombings, and hundreds of murders. Escobar had illegally imported exotic animals, including one male and one female hippopotamus, to his sprawling ranch Hacienda Nápoles, located roughly 250 kilometres north-west of Bogotá. After his death, the animals were left to roam free. With no natural predators and Colombia's fertile, swampy Antioquia region providing ideal conditions, the herd grew into what is believed to be the largest population of hippos outside Africa.
Colombian environmentalists and authorities have long classified the animals as an invasive species that displaces native fauna. Fishing communities along the Magdalena River — Colombia's principal waterway — have faced direct threats from the animals, which can weigh up to three tonnes. After years of unsuccessful containment efforts, including castration programmes, Colombia announced plans to cull some 80 of the hippos.
Vantara, spread over 3,500 acres and home to roughly 2,000 species including elephants and tigers, gained international attention in 2024 as a venue for Anant Ambani's high-profile pre-wedding celebrations. However, the facility has attracted sustained criticism from wildlife activists who question the suitability of the region's hot and dry climate for many of its animals.
The offer puts a spotlight on a dilemma that has challenged Colombian authorities for decades: how to manage a thriving but ecologically disruptive population with no easy solution. Whether relocating dozens of large, potentially dangerous animals across continents is logistically or ecologically viable remains an open question, but the proposal has drawn renewed global attention to the fate of what has become one of the world's most unusual wildlife problems.