Tycoon's son offers home for "cocaine hippos" slated to be killed

World Billionaire's son offers home for Colombia's "cocaine hippos" rather than have them killed April 28, 2026 / 11:36 AM EDT / CBS/AFP Add CBS News on Google An Indian billionaire's son offered on Tuesday to take the so-called "cocaine hippos" descended from those introduced to Colombia by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, rather than have the animals killed.Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said he had formally requested the Colombian government to stay a decision to kill the animals, which have wreaked havoc on rivers in the South American nation.Instead, he has asked to allow the "safe, scientifically-led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home" at his Vantara animal center.The vast zoo in India's western state of Gujarat bills itself as "one of the world's largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centers."Vantara is already home to hundreds of elephants, as well as 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, among other animals, according to India's Central Zoo Authority.Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara's massive animal intake, including the import of critically endangered and rare species. The shelter was at the center of angry protests after an ailing elephant was relocated to Vantara last year, BBC News reported. Escobar brought hippos -- which are native only to Africa and can weigh up to several tons -- to Colombia in the 1980s. After Escobar's death, hippos from his private zoo made a new life in the lush river banks of the Colombia's Magdalena River -- where they have attacked fishermen, prompting moves to cull them.Colombia declared them an invasive species and experts have said sterilization alone is not enough to control the growth of the animals, which is why the government previously arranged for the possible transfer of hippos to overseas sanctuaries. But the cost of deporting the hippos is also expensive — an estimated $3.5 mi...