“COCAINE HIPPOS”

Medellín – Drug lord

Pablo Escobar († 44) had hippos flown from Africa to Colombia for his private zoo in the 1980s. In the meantime, the “cocaine hippos” have become a plague. So now the animals are to be resettled – which costs money.

“The entire operation is expected to cost around $3.5 million,” Ernesto Zazueta, owner of the Ostok Conservation Area in northern Mexico, announced on Wednesday (local time), where ten animals will be housed.

The hippos Escobar introduced to other exotic species at Hacienda Nápoles in the Medellin region were released after the drug lord was killed in a police operation in 2013 and have multiplied unchecked ever since. As a result, almost 150 hippos now populate an area around the Magdalena River. According to the authorities, the descendants of the “cocaine hippos” threaten native animal species, the ecosystem, and the people living along the river.

According to a study commissioned by the Colombian government, the number of hippopotamuses could reach 434 in 2030 and surpass 1,500 in 2050 because the animals native to Africa have neither natural enemies nor drought to contend with in Colombia.

After plans to sterilize the animals, which can weigh up to three tons, fell through, the Colombian authorities finally declared them an “invasive” species last year. Unfortunately, this means they are also released for hunting.

The governor of the Colombian region of Antioquia, Aníbal Gaviria, wants to save the hippos from being shot down. So, in addition to the ten hippos finding a new home in Mexico, there are plans for another 60 to be relocated to a protected area in India.