Hippos brought to Colombia as part of Escobar’s private zoo on its ranch, Hacienda Napoles, have been so successfully bred that there is serious concern about their environmental impact and human safety, according to a new study by researchers at the Mexican and Colombian universities.
The hippos have spread from their original home, about 100 miles east of the city of Medellin, in the department of Antioch, scattering along the Magdalena River basin as their population continues to grow. constantly.
The authors of the study, published in the January issue of the journal Biological Conservation, recommend that hippos be reduced to avoid long-term negative effects, but other scientists are calling for a castration program to control the hippo population. and mention concerns about the well-being and bonding of some locals to their new neighbors.
In the 1980s, Escobar imported a male hippo and three females to join his menagerie. At his death, other species of exotic animals were moved, but the hippos stayed because they were difficult to capture and transport, according to the study.
Hippos soon began to spread to the surrounding area, but government efforts to assassinate them came to a halt after a public outcry.
Instead, a sterilization campaign was launched, but it has done little to slow the progress of hippos.
From 2011 to 2019, four males were castrated and two females were sterilized, but “it does not appear to have a significant impact on reproduction,” according to the study.
Researchers say there are probably more than 80 hippos in the area today, up from 35 in 2012, and they are concerned that hippos will continue to spread across Colombia if no action is taken.
The study also cites research showing the negative effects of hippopotamus residues on oxygen levels in water bodies, which can affect fish and ultimately humans, and raises concerns about the possible transmission of diseases from hippos to humans.
Hippos also pose a threat to the livelihood and safety of people in affected areas, according to the study, by eating or damaging crops and maintaining aggressive interactions with humans.
Investigators cite incidents of hippopotamuses chasing people, as well as a hippopotamus attack in May 2020 in which a 45-year-old man was seriously injured.
But while the study’s authors recommend abatement, Enrique Zerda Ordóñez, a biologist at the National University of Colombia, believes castration programs are the way to go.
Removing hippos would be an “easy option,” Zerda said, but it could affect the survival of an endangered species in Africa.
While sterilizing hippos is not an easy task, he said, he believes it is possible and necessary to do so now, before their numbers increase, according to a university press release.
“Right now, authorities don’t consider the species a problem,” Zerda said, “but in the future, when there are 400-500 hippos, it could pose a threat to the survival of other species that are feed in the same areas “.
David Echeverri Lopez, head of forests and biodiversity at regional environmental agency CORNARE, told CNN the situation is delicate.
“The option to kill them has always been on the table,” he said. “However, it’s very hard to imagine that this could happen right now.”
Although hippos are an invasive species capable of completely changing local ecosystems, people in the area have become accustomed to them, Echeverri said. They have become a tourist attraction to which people feel a certain affection, he added.
Some of the hippos will have to be killed, because it is “virtually impossible” to find them, move them, or sterilize them.
“But there are some other animals that are found in certain areas, in lakes and places that allow you to establish a birth control plan, assuming there are adequate resources,” said Echeverri, who works with the NGO Animal Balance for try to find alternative solutions.