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 in India.
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”.
Escobar kept the hippos at his ranch, Hacienda Nápoles – a luxury estate situated about 250km (155 miles) north-west of the capital Bogotá.
After his death, the pair were allowed to roam free and multiplied along the basin of Colombia’s main river, the Magdalena.
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.
Colombian environmentalists say the hippos, believed to be the biggest herd outside Africa, are an invasive species and have pushed away the native fauna.
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.
