Pablo Escobar brought hippos into Colombia in the 1980s for his private zoo; the four of them mated, multiplied and then roamed freely around the South American country
Colombian officials are set to cull 80 wild hippos from a colony originally started by Pablo Escobar. The notorious drug lord brought four of the animals into Colombia in the 1980s for his private zoo in the Magdalena River valley. They mated, multiplied and then roamed freely around the country. A study published by Colombia’s National University estimated that there were around 170 hippos in the country in 2022. Environmental authorities say the mammals pose a threat to villagers who have encountered them in farms and rivers. Now the Government has said that around 80 of them will be culled in order to protect the environment and people who live locally.
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Environment Minister Irene Vélez said previous methods to control their population had not worked and proved expensive.
They included neutering some of the animals or moving them to zoos. Announcing the cull, she said: “If we don’t do this we will not be able to control the population. “We have to take this action to preserve our ecosystems.” The animals are also competing for food and space against local species such as river manatees. But animal welfare activists have opposed the plan. Andrea Padilla, a senator who drafted a law against bullfights in Colombia, described he cull as “cruel”.
The hippos have made headlines over the years as officials think up different ways to deal with them. In 2022 they were officially declared an invasive species. The following year authorities began trying to neuter them.
But the initiative had limited scope due to the high cost of capturing the dangerous animals and performing surgery on them. They have also become a tourist attraction with residents near the site of Escobar’s former zoo offering hippo spotting tours and hippo-themed souvenirs. Colombia’s hippos come from a limited gene pool and could carry diseases, so taking them back to their natural habitat in Africa has been considered unfeasible.
Hacienda Nápolesm, Escobar’s ranch which held the private zoo, was previously confiscated by Colombia’s government and is now run as a theme park. Often called “The King of Cocaine,” the drug lord was one of the wealthiest criminals in history. He was killed by police in 1993.
His cocaine empire made him one of the wealthiest people on earth. He was gunned down in his home city of Medellin by police on 2 December 1993, a day after his 44th birthday. Forbes listed him as the world’s seventh richest man in 1989.
He had an estimated net worth of $9bn (£7bn).
His extraordinary story inspired a Netflix series.
