How many are Pablo Escobar’s hippos: big problem in Colombia

Colombia wants to send Pablo Escobar’s hippos back to Africa. But he has no money. The Cocaine Baron, who died in 1993, illegally imported four baby hippos. Mammals that reproduce very quickly. Thus, in the lagoon of the Hacienda Nápoles park, formerly Escobar’s private property, 130 animals now live, which were released in the 1980s by the head of the Narcos. The pack expanded its range and invaded the Magdalena River basin.

The government now wants to send them abroad in an attempt to contain the growing population that threatens to disrupt the local ecosystem. Because the voracious quadrupeds eat all kinds of vegetables, including those grown by local farmers. Authorities in the Department of Antioquia were unable to stop the animals from reproducing. So a plan was devised to capture the hippos: ten destined for the Ostok Sanctuary in northern Mexico, and sixty for India. “Moving these animals would cost, according to an initial estimate, 3.5 million dollars”, explains Ernesto Zazueta, owner of the Ostok Sanctuary. “They are first lured with special baits into the pens, where they will be confined before being placed in the mobile cages.”

However, there are not enough resources to move them all. In 2009, the government tried to cull the animals, but stopped after protests by environmentalists. So he tried to castrate them, the operation was in slow motion and did not stop the herd from growing. Without natural predators in Latin America to control them, the population will continue to grow exponentially. One study estimated that by 2034 Escobar’s hippos will number 1,400.

Each hippopotamus eats 40 kilos of grass a night, which means they threaten the biodiversity of the Magdalena River. Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Environment declared hippos an invasive species and opened the door to possible culling. The relocation plan is seen as a last-minute measure that could save the animals’ lives.