Colombia has a huge problem that multiple governments have failed to deal with: hippos.

To stop the invasive species, the Government has announced a cull of the animals, but the son of an Indian billionaire said he is “willing to receive and care for” 80 hippos at his private zoo.

Notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar illegally imported exotic animals into Colombia in the 1980s to keep on his ranch, including four hippopotami, one male and three females. After he was killed by police in 1993, the so-called “cocaine hippos” were left to roam free and began to multiply.

There are an estimated 200 animals throughout the country, but their numbers could exceed 500 by 2030 if nothing is done, according to an animal census.

Colombia’s Environment Minister Irene Velez announced on April 13 that the Government would cull up to 80 hippos in a move costing 7.2 billion pesos ($3.4 million).

“It is out of responsibility to our ecosystems that we must take these actions,” Velez said, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.

The Government has tried and failed to transfer the animals to international zoos (expensive and plagued by problems), castrate the males (dangerous), or send them back to Africa (too inbred and likely to have diseases), according to the Guardian.

Anant Ambani, the son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, with his wife Radhika Merchant. Photo / Getty

However, Anant Ambani, son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, sent a letter to the Colombian Government and said Vantara, his personal zoo, would take the animals.

“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,” the letter said.

A hippo can weigh up to 4500kg and eat about 70kg of vegetation a day. The animals in Colombia cause significant damage to farmland while pushing out native species, according to media organisation Mongabay. The population’s inbreeding has also left it with limited genetic diversity.

The cull decision has drawn opposition from animal rights groups and Colombian Senator Andrea Padilla, who called it cruel.

“Killings, massacres will never be acceptable solutions,” Padilla wrote on X in Spanish.

“I will never support the killing of healthy creatures, even less so if, as in this case, they are victims of irresponsibility, negligence, indolence, and state corruption.”

Not all Colombians want the hippos gone. A 2024 Smithsonian report found some locals had grown fond of the animals, even feeling protective of them.

Fisherman Alvaro Díaz, who had built part of his livelihood around hippo tourism, told the Guardian the animals had become part of the community.

“They were born here. They’re Colombians too now,” he said.

Colombia has not responded to the offer from Ambani.