The son of an Indian billionaire has offered to take in 80 hippos from Colombia after officials there recently approved a plan to euthanise the animals whose population is expected to exceed 500 by 2030 without intervention.
The hippos, an invasive species in Colombia, are part of a population of 200 that continues to reproduce unchecked. They are the offspring of animals illegally brought to the country in the 1980s by the late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar for his private zoo at Hacienda Nápoles – a sprawling valley estate that featured a private airstrip and served as his secluded fortress.
