Jamnagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited Vantara, an animal rescue, conservation, and rehabilitation center developed by Anant Mukesh Ambani in Jamnagar. Located within the Reliance Jamnagar refinery complex, the 3,000-acre facility is dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating captive elephants and other wildlife, offering sanctuary, medical care, and sustainable livelihood programs for local communities.

During his visit to Vantara, PM Modi was accompanied by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita, their son Anant, and daughter-in-law Radhika.

PM Modi officially opened the Vantara animal rescue and rehabilitation center in Jamnagar during a three-day visit to Gujarat. The facility shelters over 2,000 species and more than 150,000 rescued, endangered, or threatened animals. During his visit, the PM engaged closely with several rehabilitated animals.

He toured the wildlife hospital at Vantara, equipped with advanced amenities like MRI machines, CT scanners, and ICUs, alongside specialized departments such as Wildlife Anesthesia, Cardiology, Nephrology, Endoscopy, Dentistry, and Internal Medicine. At the hospital’s MRI room, he observed an Asiatic Lion undergoing a scan and visited the Operation Theatre, where a leopard injured by a car on the highway was receiving life-saving surgery after being rescued.

The Prime Minister also spent time feeding and playing with various animals, including Asiatic Lion cubs and White Lion cubs. One White Lion cub, born at Vantara after its mother was rescued and brought to the center, was fed by him. He even shared a high-five moment with a lion, a scene captured on video.

Vantara is home to endangered species like Clouded Leopard cubs and Caracals, the latter being part of a breeding program aimed at preservation, with plans for their eventual release into the wild. The center replicates natural habitats for its rescued animals and runs conservation efforts for species like the Asiatic Lion, Snow Leopard, and One-Horned Rhinoceros.

During his visit, PM Modi came face-to-face with a Golden Tiger and four snow tiger brothers, rescued from a circus where they were forced to perform. He also patted an Okapi, affectionately hugged and played with an orangutan, and strolled among grazing zebras. Additionally, he fed a giraffe and an orphaned rhino calf whose mother had passed away at the facility.

He observed a variety of unique animals, including a large python, a two-headed snake, a two-headed turtle, a Tapir, and leopard cubs rescued after being abandoned in a field and spotted by villagers. At the elephant hospital—the world’s largest of its kind—he watched elephants relaxing in jacuzzis and saw how hydrotherapy pools aid those with arthritis and foot issues in regaining mobility.

The PM also released rescued parrots back into the wild and spent time with the doctors, support staff, and workers overseeing Vantara’s operations.

PM arrived on a three-day tour of Saurashtra in his home state of Gujarat on Saturday evening, as people thronged the roads to catch a glimpse of him while he traveled from Jamnagar Air Force Station. DeshGujarat