NEW DELHI/BRASILIA: This is a story about a bird and a family. But this is no ordinary bird, and this is no ordinary family.
Spix’s macaw, a vivid-blue parrot with elaborate mating rituals, was declared extinct in the wild in 2019. A captive-breeding program has since seen some of the birds reintroduced to their native habitat in Brazil.
For more than two years, officials on three continents have been agitating over why 26 of the creatures ended up at a private zoo in India run by the philanthropic arm of a conglomerate controlled by Asia’s richest family, the Ambanis. Indian investigators cleared the sanctuary of any wrongdoing this week. But European officials say they are keeping a close watch on any exports to Vantara, while Brazil, Germany and India are working toward a possible resolution at a United Nations-administered body that monitors wildlife trade. The 3,500-acre Vantara animal rescue and rehabilitation center in Gujarat state says it is home to some 2,000 species. The venue featured in pre-wedding celebrations last year for the center’s leader Anant Ambani, the youngest son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, whose guests included Ivanka Trump and Mark Zuckerberg.
The zoo, adjacent to an oil refinery operated by the Ambanis’ Reliance Industries, was inaugurated in March by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
