US Edition‘Cocaine Hippos’ Linked to Drug Lord Pablo Escobar Will Be Euthanized
Officials said previous control efforts failed and up to 80 hippos will be affected as the animals threaten villagers and native species.
- On Monday, Colombian officials authorized a plan to euthanize at least 80 hippos roaming the Magdalena River valley, with Environment Minister Irene Velez stating the measure is necessary to control the invasive population.
- Descendants of four animals imported by Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, the "cocaine hippos" have multiplied to around 170 and now spread across river systems far beyond their original ranch.
- Over the past 12 years, Colombia attempted sterilization and relocation unsuccessfully, while officials noted the animals suffer from inbreeding and "visible genetic damage" due to their limited gene pool.
- Senator Andrea Padilla denounced the plan as "cruel," arguing that the animals are victims of government negligence and that killings set a poor example for a country recovering from conflict.
- The hippos compete with native species like manatees for food and space, while officials warn the population could reach 500 by decade's end without intervention, intensifying ecological damage.
41 Articles
41 Articles
The Colombian government's plan to sacrifice hippopotamuses, which are considered an invasive species, has opened a clash between the support of the scientific community, which warns of its environmental impact, and the rejection of animalist organizations, which question euthanasia.The Ministry of Environment announced this week the euthanasia of at least 80 specimens as part of a management plan to contain the growth of this species introduced…
Colombia moves to kill Pablo Escobar’s ‘cocaine hippos’ amid ecological threat
Colombia will euthanize dozens of invasive hippos descended from animals once owned by drug lord Pablo Escobar, in a controversial move underscoring the growing environmental and public safety risks posed by the species decades after their introduction to the South American country. Read more...
Nearly forty years after their introduction by drug dealer Pablo Escobar, the "cocaine hippopotamus" will be shot down to protect local biodiversity. The Colombian government justifies this choice...
Even after Pablo Escobar died, he left a time bomb in Colombia. The four hippopotamuses he brought from Africa on a private plane in the 1980s ended up becoming a huge environmental, social problem and now a tremendous political discussion in the country. Four decades later, the hippopotamuses not only reproduced in Puerto Triunfo, the land where the drug trafficker built the Naples estate, but they walk free through the Magdalena River basin be…
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