Colombia is planning to transfer 70 hippos from the legacy of deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar to overseas sanctuaries to mitigate their havoc. The government has signed a deal worth approximately $3.5 million with various institutions for the relocation of the hippos, which have become an environmental challenge and risk to nearby residents.
The Problem with the “Cocaine Hippos”
In the late 1980s, drug lord Pablo Escobar brought a small number of African hippos to Colombia as part of his private menagerie. After his death in 1993, the hippos were left to roam freely in Antioquia department, where their numbers reached about 150. Environmental authorities failed to curb their numbers due to their lack of natural predators in Colombia, which led to their categorization as an invasive species in 2020.
A sterilization program to control the population failed, leaving the hippo transfer plan as the only lifesaving measure. The problem is that each hippo eats about 40kg of grass a night, meaning their excrement alone is poisoning the water, killing fish, and jeopardizing the river’s rich biodiversity. The hippos are also coming into conflict with local people and hippo attacks have become more common in recent years.
The Transfer Plan
Colombia is making progress on the transfer plan, with nearly half of the 150 hippos planned to be captured and moved in the coming months. Ten hippos are bound for the Ostok Sanctuary in northern Mexico, and 60 are destined for an as-yet-unnamed facility in India. The deal includes resources to build boxes and cover air transport costs.
The transport process is expected to happen by the end of the first semester of this year once “hippo passports” are issued. Currently, the hippos have no natural predator in Colombia, causing concern for agriculture and people’s safety.
Ecological Damage and Legal Rights
The hippos’ presence in Colombia is resulting in ecological damage by consuming considerable amounts of grassland and producing waste, which poisons the rivers, kills fish, and threatens endemic species like manatees, otters, and turtles. The area in Antioquia where the hippos roam is a paradise for the animals who have no predators and ample food and water, but they are dangerous and territorial.
A federal court in the US ruled that hippos can be recognized as people or “interested persons” with legal rights, but the order doesn’t carry any weight in Colombia where the hippos live. Locals call them the “village pets,” and some support the hippos even though they pose a risk to human safety.
Saving Biodiversity
The transfer plan is seen as a final lifesaving measure to control the hippo population and save the river’s biodiversity. The Colombian government hopes that this will be a successful initiative in protecting native species in their region.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
