Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' to become invasive species - so Colombia can kill them
dailystar.co.ukPablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" an invasive species in the hopes of culling the growing numbers. The drug lord, who was shot in December 1993, had four hippos imported to his Hacienda Napoles estate in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia.
While not native to Colombia, the four hippos were left there after government officials found it would be too difficult to extract them following the cocaine baron's death.There are now reportedly around 130 in the family of "cocaine hippos," with most of them residing around the Antioquia area, providing danger to locals and the ecosystem.
Many of Escobar's other animals were extracted and relocated after his death, but the hippos proved difficult to catch and were allowed to stay on the island, soon escaping into the area around the Magdalena River.
Scientists warn that the animals do not have a natural predator and are a potential problem for biodiversity since their faeces can affect rivers and the habitat of local manatees and capybaras.In May 2019, one of the hippos was spotted wandering around a residential district, while in a separate incident last year a man and his son were attacked by a hippo, leaving the man hospitalised.The government announced new legislation that would cull the 130 hippos, which are expected to reach a population of 400 by the end of the decade if not dealt with.The Environment Minister said: "There are discussions about the many actions that can be done, but it would be irresponsible for me to guess what the final management plan will be."There is talk of castration, sterilisation, of euthanising some specimens.
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