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Colombia to cull some of Pablo Escobar's hippos

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Handout photo released by CORNARE of hippos at a care centre in Doradal, Antioquia Department, northeast of Bogota, on October 15, 2021. Twenty-four out of 80 hippos that roamed the former ranch of late drug lord Pablo Escobar, in northwestern Colombia, were sterilized due to the " growth="" of="" this="" authorities="" reported.="" Agence="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/reuters/02/07/bogota.jpg"/><figcaption>Handout photo released by CORNARE of hippos at a care centre in Doradal, Antioquia Department, northeast of Bogota, on October 15, 2021. Twenty-four out of 80 hippos that roamed the former ranch of late drug lord Pablo Escobar, in northwestern Colombia, were sterilized due to the &quot;uncontrolled&quot; growth of this &quot;invasive&quot; species, authorities reported. <em>CORNARE, Agence France-Presse</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Bogotá - Colombia will cull some of the 166 hippos descended from a small herd imported by deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, the country&#x27;s environment minister said Thursday.</p><p>Authorities have tried various approaches to curb the population explosion along the Magdalena River, including sterilization and transferring individuals to zoos abroad.</p><p>But they have so far been unable to contain the growth in hippo numbers in Colombia&#x27;s Antioquia department, thousands of kilometers away from their homeland in Africa.</p><p>After cocaine baron Escobar was killed in a 1993 shootout with police, the animals he had imported for a private zoo were left to roam freely in a hot savanna region of Antioquia criss-crossed by rivers, marshes and swamps with abundant hippo food.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/16/23/pablo-escobars-hippo-population-is-a-huge-problem">Colombia: Pablo Escobar&#x27;s hippo population is a huge problem</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/07/22/end-of-the-road-in-colombia-for-escobars-cocaine-hippos">End of the road in Colombia for Escobar&#x27;s &#x27;cocaine&#x27; hippos?</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/05/16/drug-lords-pet-hippos-roam-colombian-village">Drug lord&#x27;s pet hippos roam Colombian village</a></li></ul><p>Colombia&#x27;s environment ministry declared the hippos an invasive species last year, opening the door to a cull.</p><p>Experts warn the mammals&#x27; uncontrolled reproduction poses a threat to the local human population and to wildlife.</p><p>Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world.</p><p>Fishing communities along the Magdalena River have come under attack and some hippos invaded a school yard, though no-one has died in such confrontations.</p><p>On Thursday, minister Susana Muhamad told reporters officials will sterilize 20 of the hippos this year, while &quot;some&quot; of the animals would be euthanized, though she did not say how many.</p><p>University experts have warned Colombia&#x27;s invasive hippo population could reach 1,000 by 2035 if nothing is done, but animal activists say sterilization entails suffering for the animals -- and great danger for the vets doing it.</p><div><strong>das/lab/bds/mlr/mlm</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

Colombia will cull some of the 166 hippos descended from a small herd imported by deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, the country's environment minister said Thursday.