An administrative court in the central Colombian department of Cundinamarca ruled Friday that the environment ministry should issue a regulation on the matter within three months. The judges cited controlled culling and sterilization of hippos as possible remedies.
Pablo Escobar, who was killed in a police raid in December 1993, had been collecting exotic animals on his estate for years, including giraffes, tigers, antelopes and hippos, of which he imported just four from Africa. After his death, however, the animals reproduced in the wild.and according to the authorities’ forecasts, in 2035 there may be over a thousand of them.
The Ministry of the Environment announced a plan last year to sterilize part of the population of the invasive species, including the possibility of euthanizing some individuals. However, as the AFP agency notes, Sterilization is progressing slowly and no animals have yet been put to sleep.
Plans to relocate dozens of hippos to Mexico, India and the Philippines have not produced any results so far.
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They want to kill Pablo Escobar’s hippos
The court in Cundinamarca accepted the complaint filed by a representative of the local community, who stressed that Hippos are a threat to humans and the environment. As an invasive species They are displacing native species, and the situation is made worse by their large size and territorial behaviour, RCN radio reported.
Hippos can be very aggressive when they feel threatened, and one has been reported in Colombia several cases of attacks on people.
The case of “Escobar’s hippos” has sparked a lively discussion in Colombia. In addition to the threats to the population and ecosystem, there are also voices that their presence helps the local economy by stimulating tourism – RCN reminded.
