Anant Ambani’s Vantara: From elephants to tigers, over 2000 rescued animals find state-of-the-art home
Sprawled within the green belt of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat, the Vantara ecosystem comprises of a 3,000 acres Elephant Centre, which is home to over rescued 200 elephants, as well as ‘Green Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre’, which is home to over 2,000 animals across 43 species.
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Positive conditioning training of the rescued elephants underway at the Elephant camp. (Reliance Foundation)
A victim of hunting, nine-year-old leopard Deva sustained grievous wounds and infection on his neck after being trapped in the metal wire snare for two days. Following information from the forest department, a team of vets and experts from Vantara rushed to the spot and treated the leopard over the next few days, till its complete recovery.
Now treated, Deva is one of the 2,000-plus animals, which have been rehabilitated as a part of the Vantara animal ecosystem, announced by the Reliance Foundation on Sunday.
A comprehensive Animal Rescue, Care, Conservation and Rehabilitation programme, the Vantara is a pet project of Anant Ambani, director on the boards of RIL and Reliance Foundation. “We are focused on protecting critically endangered species native to India. We also want to restore vital habitats and address urgent threats to species and establish Vantara as a leading-edge conservation programme,” Anant Ambani told reporters on Sunday.
Sprawled within the green belt of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat, the Vantara ecosystem comprises of a 3,000 acres Elephant Centre. (Source: Reliance Foundation)
What started as a passion for Anant, while he was still knee-high to a grasshopper, has become a mission now with Vantara.
Sprawled within the green belt of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat, the Vantara ecosystem comprises of a 3,000 acres Elephant Centre, which is home to over rescued 200 elephants, as well as ‘Green Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre’, which is home to over 2,000 animals across 43 species.
It was only after procuring the prior approval of the Chief Wildlife Wardens of the respective states and the Central Zoo Authority as per provisions laid under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the zoo rules, 2009, that the animal exchange programmes were carried out.
A non-profit initiative, the elephant centre is closed to the public while the rescue and rehabilitation centre is slated to open its doors for educational institutions in a bid to increase awareness of conservation issues among people.
It was only after procuring the prior approval of the Chief Wildlife Wardens of the respective states and the Central Zoo Authority that the animal exchange programmes were carried out. (Reliance Foundation)
Meanwhile, according to Anant Ambani, a 500-acre zoological facility is also in the works, which will be opened to the public in the future.
Elephant Centre
Rescued from all over the country, over 200 elephants — injured or rescued from unfortunate situations like circuses — walk the swathes, alongside their mahouts, of the 3000-acre forest, which was a barren parcel until 1998.
The centre is also home to a 25,000 sq ft elephant hospital, one of the largest in the world. (Reliance Foundation)
Besides state-of-the-art shelters, scientifically designed day and night enclosures, hydrotherapy pools, water bodies, ayurveda treatment sections & a large elephant jacuzzi for treating arthritis in elephants, the centre is also home to a 25,000 sq ft elephant hospital, one of the largest in the world.
Keeping in mind their most necessary physical needs including their oral health, the nutrition of each elephant is curated by professor Dr Petra Wolf, a renowned expert roped in from Germany last year, who is now leading a team of five nutritionists from India to prepare the food for the rescued elephants, in a special kitchen of over 14,000 sq ft.
Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre
Tigers rescued from the hunting lodges of South Africa, Pygmy hippos brought in from Sri Lanka while the country was undergoing a financial crisis, over 1,000 crocodiles from a severely overcrowded and congested facility in Tamil Nadu, 200 leopards from all over India, which have suffered injuries in road accidents or man-wild conflicts, lions — these are some of the animals rehabilitated at the 650-acre centre.
“We are focused on protecting critically endangered species native to India,” Anant Ambani said to reporters on Sunday. (Reliance Foundation)
The animals within — as well as those rescued from accidents and brought in after recommendations — receive treatment at a hospital spanning one lakh sq ft, possessing the most advanced technology such as ICU, MRI, CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound, endoscopy units amongst others.
Goals, going forward
Having given a fresh lease of life to many animals, birds and reptiles, Vantara is eyeing to partner with the Zoo Authority of India and other relevant government organisations in improving all the 150-plus zoos in India in terms of training, capacity building and animal care infrastructure. “We hope Vantara becomes a beacon of hope globally and can showcase how a forward-thinking institution can help the global biodiversity conservation initiatives,” said Anant Ambani.
(The correspondent was in Jamnagar at the invitation of Reliance Foundation)
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