Billionaire Ambani’s Son Wants To Save Escobar’s ‘Cocaine Hippos’ From Extinction In Colombia

BreakingBusinessBillionaire Ambani’s Son Wants To Save Escobar’s ‘Cocaine Hippos’ From Extinction In ColombiaByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorApr 28, 2026, 04:04pm EDTApr 28, 2026, 04:06pm EDTToplineThe wildlife rescuer son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, is publicly pleading with the Colombian government to let his organization take ownership of 80 wild hippopotamuses marked for death decades after drug lord Pablo Escobar first introduced the species to the country. Hippos, descended from a small herd introduced by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, near the Hacienda Napoles theme park on April 19, 2023.AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsAnant Ambani, who founded the Vantara wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation center in India’s western state of Gujarat, on Tuesday asked the Colombian government to reconsider its plan to kill 80 of the animals in efforts to control their population. The number of hippos, an invasive species not native to Colombia, is nearing 200 and some of the animals have attacked fishermen and are destroying parts of the Magdalena River, the government said. Officials authorized the plan to kill dozens of the so-called "cocaine hippos" earlier this month after saying they'd exhausted all other options to manage the population, including sterilization programs, experimental contraceptives and relocation efforts, to no avail. But Vantara says it wants to take over care of the hippos and says it has the "veterinary expertise, appropriate infrastructure, husbandry systems and welfare protocols” to do it.Ambani said in a statement that the hippos "did not choose where they were born," adding, "if we have the ability to save them through a safe and humane solution, we have a responsibility to try.”Public statements released by Ambani and Vantara did not specify exactly how the hippos—which can each weigh up to 4...