Recently, Anant Ambani, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, introduced his ambitious wildlife preservation project, which is poised to become the world’s largest zoo and rehabilitation centre.

Dubbed ‘Vantara,’ meaning ‘Star Of The Forest,’ this extensive initiative encompasses 3,000 acres within Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex, often recognized as the Green Belt Of Gujarat.

Read more: 5 must-try night safaris in India

Launched on February 26, 2024, Vantara features dedicated facilities for elephants and state-of-the-art accommodations for various animals, including lions, leopards, tigers, and crocodiles. Apart from the scientifically designed animal enclosures, the centre also has hydrotherapy pools, a large elephant jacuzzi for arthritis treatment, and multiple water bodies.

Revealing more about this, Anant informed that Vantara aims to collaborate with the Zoo Authority of India and other relevant government organisations to enhance all the 150-plus zoos in India in terms of training, capacity building, and animal care infrastructure.

His ambitious wildlife conservation project aspires to rescue and rehabilitate animals globally, and is spread across 3,000 acres. The 1 lakh sq ft hospital and medical research centre offer advanced amenities like MRI, X-ray, ICU, CT scan, dental scalers, endoscopy, lithotripsy, dialysis, ultrasound, and video conferencing for surgeries. Then there is also the exclusive Elephant Hospital that provides specialised care with hyperbaric oxygen chambers, laser machines, and a pathology lab.

Speaking about this initiative, Anant Ambani said, “What started as a passion for me at a very young age has become a mission now with Vantara. 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 program.”

Vantara’s rescue and rehabilitation centre has reportedly saved and sheltered over 2,000 animals across 43 species from exploitative conditions. There is a dedicated staff of 2,100 that continues to provide refuge to animals in need.

Explaining the philosophy that inspired him to establish Vantara, Ambani added, “Vantara is a combination of the age-old ethical value of compassion with the excellence of modern scientific and technological professionalism. I see Jeev Seva (animal care) as a seva towards the almighty as well as humanity. I drew inspiration to do this from my mother. In the Hindu religion, it is said that animals are dear to the gods.”

Read more: World’s most dangerous roads

He further added, “We have saved more than 200 elephants and brought them here from all parts of the country. We do ‘sewa’ of elephants here. This is not a zoological park but a ‘sewalaya.’ The 600-acre area has been developed as a natural habitat for elephants.”

Revealing more about this centre, Ambani also stated, “We have made a veterinary hospital with state-of-the-art technology. The hospital has MRI & CT scan machines, endoscopic robotic surgery machines and 6 surgical centres. We also put prosthetics for the animals at the hospital here… The zoological park will be opened to the public soon.”