The son of an Indian billionaire has offered to take care of the descendants of the hippos drug lord Pablo Escobar brought to Colombia – to prevent them from being euthanized.
Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said on Tuesday that he has formally approached Colombian authorities to postpone the culling of the animals. Instead, Ambani wants to relocate the 80 hippos safely and scientifically to a permanent home at his zoo, Vantara – which describes itself as one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centers.
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Pablo Escobar’s deadly hippos
Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug lord and leader of the Medellín Cartel, was at the height of his power in the 1980s, controlling over 80% of the global cocaine market. At his sprawling estate, Hacienda Nápoles, he built a private zoo that included elephants, giraffes, exotic birds – and four hippos (one male, three females). Escobar was killed in a shootout with Colombian authorities in 1993. After his death, the zoo fell into ruin, but the hippos escaped into the surrounding rivers and jungles. Because they had no natural predators in South America, their population exploded. Today, an estimated 150–200 “cocaine hippos” roam Colombia, and they have become an ecological problem – attacking fishermen, destroying crops, and even threatening local children.
Vantara already houses hundreds of elephants, along with 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards, and 900 crocodiles, among other animals.
Escobar brought hippos to Colombia in the 1980s – and now they pose a threat
Escobar originally brought hippos – which are native only to Africa – to Colombia in the 1980s. After Escobar’s death, the hippos from his private zoo found a new life in the Magdalena River. There, they regularly attack fishermen, which is the reason Colombian authorities now want to cull them.
