Colombian authorities have announced plans to relocate around 70 “cocaine hippos” that have descended from drug trafficker Pablo Escobar’s private menagerie, at an estimated cost of $3.5 million. The hippos will be transported to different locations, including a sanctuary in Mexico and another in India. This move is part of an agreement signed by the local Antioquia government with several institutions, including the Colombian Agricultural Institute and the Colombian Air Force.
The plan will allocate resources for building boxes and cover air transport costs for the hippos, whose population has boomed despite the efforts of authorities to control it using castrations and contraceptive darts. Currently, there are between 130 and 160 of these hippos, and they have spread far beyond Escobar’s former ranch of Hacienda Napoles, where they began as a population of just one male and three females.
Escobar had amassed these hippos and other exotic animals in the 1980s, and after his death in 1993, authorities relocated most of the other animals. However, the hippos were left behind because they were too difficult to transport. Now, they pose an environmental challenge and are concerning nearby residents, as they have begun to reproduce rapidly, extending their reach along the Magdalena River basin. Authorities say that the hippos’ threat to agriculture and people’s safety has been well-documented in research.
Recently declared an invasive species in Colombia, the hippos’ impact on the local ecosystem and water quality is causing mass fish deaths due to hippo waste. Transporting the hippos back to Africa is not an option as it could risk upsetting the local ecosystem there. Hence, a sanctuary in India will provide a new home for 60 hippos, and the other 10 hippos will be transported to the Ostok Sanctuary in Mexico.
Anibal Gaviria, governor of Antioquia Department, said in a press conference that the plan aims to save the lives of hippos and protect the lives of people in the Magdalena Medio region. Once the Ministry of Environment issues “hippo passports,” the transport process can begin, and it is expected to take place by the end of the first semester of the year.
In conclusion, Colombia’s plan to relocate Escobar’s “cocaine hippos” is a significant move in protecting the environment and the safety of the local residents. The agreement signed by the local Antioquia government with various institutions will allocate resources to cover the transportation costs and build boxes for the hippos. The hippos’ population has boomed, and they have spread far beyond Escobar’s former ranch. The hippos’ impact on the local ecosystem and water quality is well-documented, and the plan aims to relocate them to sanctuaries in Mexico and India, respectively. The transport process is expected to take place by the end of the first semester of the year, and it will involve issuing “hippo passports” by the Ministry of Environment.
