Anant Ambani urges Colombia to halt Hippo cull, offers relocation plan

Anant Mukesh Ambani has urged Colombia to suspend plans to cull 80 invasive hippos, proposing their relocation to Vantara with full funding, scientific management, and lifelong care, pending required international approvals

New Delhi: Anant Mukesh Ambani has appealed to Colombia to suspend a plan to cull 80 hippopotamuses and instead allow their relocation to his wildlife facility in India, offering to fund and execute the operation.

In a letter to Colombia’s environment minister Irene Velez Torres, Ambani, an executive director at Reliance Industries Ltd and founder of Vantara,  proposed a “scientifically led” translocation of the animals from the Magdalena River basin to Jamnagar in Gujarat.

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According to a press statement issued by Vantara, one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centres, 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 authorised the lethal removal of 80 hippos, part of a fast-growing population descended from animals introduced in the 1980s and now classified as invasive due to risks to biodiversity and local communities.

Ambani, the youngest son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, said Vantara would provide veterinary expertise, capture and transport logistics, biosecurity measures and lifelong care for the animals at a purpose-built facility designed to replicate their natural habitat. “These eighty hippos did not choose where they were born, nor did they create the circumstances they now face,” said Ambani.

“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.” The proposal calls for Colombia to defer the cull while authorities review the relocation plan. Any transfer would require approvals from both Colombian and Indian governments, as well as relevant international bodies.

The Magdalena basin is estimated to host around 200 hippos, whose unchecked growth has raised environmental and safety concerns, prompting debate over culling versus alternative population control measures. Vantara said it is ready to engage with Colombian authorities to develop a detailed operational plan, positioning the initiative as part of broader efforts to deploy science-led conservation solutions at scale.