Last Tuesday, Colombia started conducting hippopotamus sterilization. This was specifically targeted towards hippo descendants of the animals that drug kingpin Pablo Escobar illegally transported to the country during the 80s.
Colombia Starts Hippo Sterilization
According to environmental authorities, one female and two male hippos went through surgical sterilization. This comes as part of bigger efforts of the government to manage the population of over 100 unsupervised mammals that dwell in certain rivers.
There are plans to perform sterilizations on 40 hippos each year. This sterilization involves moving them to other countries or possibly performing euthanasia on them.
This comes as these hippos, which have been declared invasive species, are displaying signs that they could threaten the local communities and biodiversity of the country.
Descendants of Pablo Escobar's Pet Hippos: Invasive Species
Back in the 1980s, some hippos were brought to Hacienda Nápoles, the private zoo of Pablo Escobar. This zoo became a public tourist attraction after the drug kingpin died in 1993.
These hippos spread from the estate of Escobar and reached nearby rivers. This is where they ended up flourishing. Most of them freely dwell in rivers and reproduce without restraints.
Across Colombia, these creatures do not have any natural predators. They have also been declared invasive species that could affect the entire ecosystem. They are considered the world's largest invasive animals.
According to scientists, the feces of these hippos alter the rivers' compositions. It could affect the habitat of local capybaras and manatees. An April study regarding Colombian hippos revealed that roughly 181 to 215 hippos dwell there. This study also explained the evidence of the damages caused by these creatures and also listed some solution recommendations.
Audrey Huse, an independent journalist, also explains that because of the freedom of these hippos to roam around, they end up threatening certain species, such as otters, manatees, and turtles, and killing fish. Their population is also booming since the species has no natural predators in the area. Moreover, their massive size makes them eat sizable grassland amounts and produce notable waste that could poison the waters.
Hippo Sterilization Challenges
David Echeverry López, the chief of the environment office that handles the plan, notes that the sterilization process requires time as it is complicated to find and capture the massive, aggressive, and territorial creatures.
The region's rain events have further complicated these capture efforts. Echeverry explains that the more extensive availability of grass equates to food oversupply. This makes it more complicated to bait these creatures to capture them.
Experts also note that sterilization efforts will not be sufficient enough to control the invasive species' growth. Because of this, the government is also working on potentially moving and transferring these hippos to other countries. However, the challenge of this plan comes with a huge cost, as it takes roughly $3.5 million to deport these creatures.
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