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Vantara wants Escobar’s hippos- how the drug lord’s animals caught Anant Ambani’s attention
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Vantara wants Escobar’s hippos- how the drug lord’s animals caught Anant Ambani’s attention

The Indian Express·Explained Desk·about 1 month ago
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Nearly three decades after drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was killed in Medellin, Colombia, an unlikely relic of his legacy continues to plague the South American country — his brood of hippos, colloquially dubbed “cocaine hippos”, that have turned into an invasive species. Escobar had initially imported four hippos — one male and three female — during the early to mid 1980s. Today, their numbers have increased to around 200, posing a danger to the indigenous flora and fauna. Colombia, which has unsuccessfully attempted to control their population, has now decided to cull some 80 of the animals. On April 27, Vantara founder Anant Ambani officially reached out to the Colombian government proposing to facilitate their relocation and continued care. Colombia has not commented on the offer. Here’s a look at the history of these non-indigenous hippos, and Colombia has been keen to cull them despite their relatively small numbers.…

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