Gena Steffens
A hippopotamus in the Magdalena River, Colombia’s largest waterway, where descendants of Escobar’s group are increasingly settling, threatening plant and animal life.
Government wants to drastically reduce the population of animals that were part of a former zoo belonging to the infamous drug trafficker, after several failed attempts at sterilization and transfer to other countries.
Colombia plans to drastically reduce the population of invasive hippos descended from specimens that belonged to the drug trafficker Pablo Escobarthe government said on Monday, after years of debate over how to control the growing group of these animals.
The Minister of the Environment, Irene Vélez Torres, stated that the authorities intend to initially slaughter around 80 animalsas efforts to relocate hippos to zoos and wildlife parks in countries such as Mexico, India and the Philippines have so far failed.
“If we don’t do this, we won’t be able to control the population,” said the minister. “We need to take this action to preserve our ecosystems.”
Vélez stressed that previous methods to control the population, including the sterilization of some animals, were expensive and ineffective, due to the high costs involved in capturing dangerous animals and performing surgeries. As hippos come from a limited genetic pool and can carry diseases, taking them back to their natural habitat in Africa was considered unfeasible.
The Ministry reported that it continues to work on relocation plans, but warned that urgent action is needed to contain this population. It is estimated that 200 hippos currently live in Colombia. Without intervention, this number could reach around a thousand by 2035, according to the ministry’s assessment.
It all started with Escobar’s four hippos
Scientists warn that the animals cause damage to local ecosystems, in addition to threatening native species such as manatees and river turtles, damaging agricultural land and posing risks to the population.
The origin of hippos dates back to four African animals imported by Escobar to his private zoo in Naples Farma huge property in the Magdalena River valley with a private airstrip that served as the drug trafficker’s rural residence.
After Escobar’s death at the hands of security forces in 1993, the property was abandoned and the animals escaped to nearby rivers, where they reproduced rapidly and spread throughout the region. More recently, hippos have been sighted in areas more than 100 kilometers north of the farm.
Despite the problems, hippos have also become a tourist attractionwith inhabitants of villages close to Fazenda Nápoles promoting tours to observe the animals and selling themed souvenirs.
Hippos are also one of the main attractions at Fazenda Nápoles, which was confiscated by the Colombian government during the seizure of Escobar’s assets. The site currently operates as a theme park, with swimming pools, water slides and a zoo that includes several other African species.
Environmentalists protest decision
Animal rights activists in Colombia have long opposed proposals to cull hippos, arguing that they deserve to live. They argue that approaching the problem through violence sets a bad example for a country that has gone through decades of internal conflicts.
Andrea Padilla, a senator and animal rights activist who helped draft a law against bullfighting in Colombia, described the plan to cull hippos as a cruel decision and accused government authorities of taking the easy way out.
“Murders and massacres will never be acceptable”, wrote Padilla on his account on the social network X. He also argued that hippos “are healthy creatures that are victims of negligence” by government entities.
