{"id":555479,"date":"2026-04-28T18:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/555479\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:20:09","slug":"indian-billionaires-son-offers-to-save-escobars-hippos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/555479\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian billionaire’s son offers to save Escobar’s hippos"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a letter to Colombia’s environment minister, the CEO of Ambani’s zoo said they were ready to give the herd “lifelong care”, external<\/a> in India. <\/p>\n

The letter, published on the zoo’s Instagram account, said “at the heart of this proposal is Vantara’s belief that every life matters and that we have a shared responsibility to protect life wherever possible”.<\/p>\n

Escobar kept the hippos at his ranch, Hacienda N\u00e1poles – a luxury estate situated about 250km (155 miles) north-west of the capital Bogot\u00e1.<\/p>\n

After his death, the pair were allowed to roam free and multiplied along the basin of Colombia’s main river, the Magdalena.<\/p>\n

Efforts failed to contain the herd’s growth, with a lack of predators and the fertile and swampy Antioquia region providing perfect conditions for the native African animal to thrive.<\/p>\n

Colombian environmentalists say the hippos, believed to be the biggest herd outside Africa, are an invasive species and have pushed away the native fauna.<\/p>\n

Fishing communities along the Magdalena River have come under attack by hippos – one of the largest land animals, with adult males weighing up to three tonnes. <\/p>\n