The Colombian government has announced a raft of measures to control its growing population of invasive hippos—descendants of animals introduced to the country by the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Hippos are native to Africa, but in the 1980s, Escobar smuggled four of the animals into Colombia, keeping them at his luxurious country estate, Hacienda Nápoles, in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo—located east of Medellin—which featured a private zoo.
As well as the hippos, the zoo housed numerous exotic creatures, including elephants, ostriches, rhinos, giraffes and zebras.
Following the death of Escobar, who was killed by Colombian police during a shootout in 1993, the government seized Hacienda Nápoles and most of the animals were donated to local or international zoos.
But it was deemed too dangerous and impractical to move the hippos from the ranch, so they remained there, multiplying over the subsequent years. The population has now spread beyond the confines of Escobar's former estate into the wetland environments surrounding the nearby Magdalena River.
Authorities estimate that there are now more than 160 hippos living in the region. If no measures are taken, projections suggest that the population could reach around a thousand by 2035.
The hippos have no natural predators in Colombia and are flourishing in the warm, wetland environments. The growth of the hippo population has sparked concerns regarding their impact on the local ecosystem, as well as the significant risks they pose to humans in the area.
Hippos are among the largest land animals in the world and are responsible for hundreds of human deaths in Africa every year, although so far the Colombian population has not killed anyone, despite occasional attacks.
On Thursday, the Colombian environment minister, Susana Muhamad, announced plans to control the hippo population though measures including surgical sterilization, the transfer of animals to other countries, and possibly euthanasia.
At a press conference, Muhamad said the measures were being introduced to "reduce social, environmental and ecosystem impacts" of the invasive species.
The environment minister said the first stage of the plan will be the surgical sterilization of 40 hippos per year, which will begin next week, the Associated Press reported.
This procedure is expensive, however, with each sterilization costing almost $10,000. It also poses risks for the animals, including allergic reactions to anesthesia or death, as well as placing the veterinarians administering the procedure in danger. To make the situation even more challenging, the hippos are dispersed over a large area, and are territorial, often acting aggressively.
Some experts believe sterilization procedures alone will not be sufficient to control the growth of the population. As a result, the government is also planning to transfer hippos to other countries, a measure that was announced in March.
Colombian officials have contacted authorities in Mexico, India and the Philippines regarding this matter, Muhamad said. The government is currently looking into the transfer of 60 of the hippos to India.
"We are working on the protocol for the export of the animals. We are not going to export a single animal if there is no authorization from the environmental authority of the other country," Muhamad was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
The Colombian government is also creating a protocol for euthanasia as a measure of last resort, Muhamad said.
Previous efforts to control the hippo population have failed to control its growth. But last year, they were declared an invasive species in the country, giving the government the green light to consider more extreme methods such as euthanasia.
Despite the dangers posed by the hippos, residents of the town of Puerto Triunfo have become accustomed to seeing the animals roaming around, and many locals are opposed to them being culled.
"They are seen as charismatic animals. They are chubby, their babies are cute; so, many people who grew up in the area are used to them and love them," David Echeverri, a local biologist, previously told The World.
A spokesperson for the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI)—a U.S.-based non-profit—told Newsweek it strongly supports surgical sterilization as the primary method to control and eventually reduce the size of the Colombian hippo population, although the organization recognizes that this approach is not without its risks.
"AWI strongly supports this tool as the primary method to control and eventually reduce the size of the Colombian hippo population to address the impacts of this large, non-native mammal on the ecology and biodiversity of the aquatic ecosystems that the animals inhabit," DJ Schubert, senior scientist in wildlife biology for AWI's Terrestrial Wildlife Team, said in statements provided to Newsweek.
"AWI encourages the Colombian government to limit its 'culling' strategy to only surgical sterilization, which, if all hippos can be sterilized over a set time period, will result in the decline of the number of hippos until the population is reduced to zero."
Schubert said AWI has "grave concerns" about the zoos and facilities that may receive translocated hippos both in Mexico and India.
"Specifically, AWI questions whether either facility has enough space to provide even a minimum level of care to the hippos, and whether staff are capable of properly and responsibly providing adequate and humane care to the animals," Schubert said.
"AWI notes that the physical and psychological needs of these large animals, including the need for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats, cannot be satisfied in a captive facility. Like orcas, dolphins, elephants, bears, and many other species, hippos do not belong in captivity. Furthermore, their care is expensive."
Schubert said it is "imperative" that any euthanasia protocol the Colombian government develops include all elements of the process, including capture, handling, euthanasia method, and disposition of the carcasses.
"The objective of any ethical euthanasia protocol should be to achieve near-instant death while not substantially compromising the well-being of the hippos, such as through excessive stress or cruel treatment," he said.
Update 11/15/23, 8:44 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information from the Animal Welfare Institute.
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