Brace yourselves, animal lovers, as the world’s largest zoo and wildlife preservation centre will be built in India!

Anant Ambani, the younger son of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani recently announced the launch of one of their biggest ‘pet projects’, a grand rehabilitation centre that will rescue and treat abused, injured, and endangered animals. Named ‘Vantara’ (which translates to ‘Star Of The Forest’), the project is being financed by Reliance Industries & Reliance Foundation.

The Grandest Zoo The World Has Ever Seen

Spread over 3,000 acres in Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex (which has also been dubbed as the Green Belt Of Gujarat), Vantara will recreate a sylvan atmosphere that will mimic the green, lush habitat the rescued animals have grown up in. It will work with several renowned wildlife experts.

What Will Vantara Offer?

The all-new animal conservation centre will have several infrastructures such as state-of-the-art healthcare, hospitals, research, and academic centres. Vantara will also collaborate with renowned animal protection organisations such as International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).

A Look At Vantara’s Milestones

Over the past few years, the programme rescued more than 200 elephants and several reptiles and birds from being sold off and hunted. It has undertaken initiatives in key species including rhino, leopard, and crocodile rehabilitation. Vantara has also collaborated with international rescue centres in Mexico and Venezuela to rescue big, wild animals.

State-Of-Art Elephant Rescue Centre

Vantara has been created to ensure the prolonged survival of the elephants, many of whom have become highly endangered thanks to being relentlessly hunted for their tusks. The Centre For Elephants has state of art shelters, day and night enclosures hydrotherapy pools, water bodies & a large elephant jacuzzi for treating arthritis in Elephants. The centre, which houses over 200 elephants and is run by a 500-member-strong staff, consists of veterinarians, nutritionists, and pathologists.
The Elephant Hospital it houses is one of the largest in existence. 25,000 metre tall, the hospital is fully equipped with portable X-ray and laser machines, a pharmacy centre, a pathology lab, an imported elephant restraining device for diagnosis, hydraulic pulleys, and cranes, a hydraulic surgical table, and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for the Elephants. The hospital has carried out several cataracts and endoscopic guided surgeries for ageing elephants.
The hospital also houses a kitchen that generates customised meal plans for elephants. A highly experienced team of Ayurveda experts work around the clock to improvise some well-deserved TLC (tender-loving-care) for the elephants which includes Multani-mitti massages and hot oil therapy.

Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre

The Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre houses several animals who have been saved from exploitative or perilous environments or from the brink of death. The Centre, which is run by a 2100-strong staff, houses over 200 leopards who are recovering from road accidents or have almost been poached for their beautiful skin. The centre has also rescued over 1000 crocodiles from a severely overcrowded and congested facility in Tamil Nadu.

In total, the centre has rescued and rehabilitated more than 2000 animals, across 43 species. These include: 200 Elephants, over 300 large felines such as leopards, tigers, lions, jaguars, etc., over 300 herbivores such as deer, and over 1200 reptiles such as crocodiles, snakes, and turtles

The centre comes with facilities such as an ICU, MRI, CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound, endoscopy, dental scalars, lithotripsy, dialysis, OR1 technology that enables live video conferences for surgeries, and a blood plasma separator.

Vantara has also started a conservation focus breeding programme to sustain endangered species that are at risk of extinction due to the rapidly dwindling population, with the objective of repopulating them.

Meet The Brains Behind Vantara

Vantara has been conceptualised and created under the aegis of Anant Ambani Director on the boards of RIL and Reliance Foundation. The Reliance Industries scion, who has a passion both for wildlife conservation as well as sustainable energy generation, is currently spearheading Reliance’s renewable energy project in Jamnagar, with a goal to make the giant a Net Carbon Zero company by 2035.

In a media interaction, Ambani revealed what drew him to envisage such a huge and ambitious animal rehabilitation initiative. “What started as a passion for me at a very young age has become a mission now with Vantara and our brilliant and committed team. We are focused on protecting critically endangered species native to India. We also want to restore vital habitats address urgent threats to species and establish Vantara as a leading-edge conservation programme. We hope Vantara becomes a beacon of hope globally and can showcase how a forward-thinking institution can help the global biodiversity conservation initiatives,” he told the media.

Ambani also revealed that the philosophy of Vantara is simple – it is based on the age-old Indian principle propounded by Swami Vivekananda: Those dedicating themselves to ‘jeev seva’ (which roughly translates to caring for animals), are also doing their duty towards the Almighty and humanity.