Colombia is finally tackling its hippo problem

Drug lord Pablo Escobar brought four hippos to Colombia during the 1980s, to live alongside other exotic animals in his private zoo on a luxury estate outside Medellín. After his death in 1993, the hippos escaped and have since proliferated vigorously, endangering the local ecosystem, destroying fields and endangering residents. The government long delayed tackling the invasive species but has now come up with a range of solutions, starting with sterilisation.

“Surgical sterilisation is just one of the three measures envisaged by the Ministry of the Environment as part of the plan to manage and check hippos in Colombia,” says Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad, who presented the plan. Further steps are to include the euthanisation and relocation of the animals.

When Escobar was killed by security forces, the hippos were left to fend for themselves and the past 30 years saw the original four reproducing vigorously and spreading nationwide. More than 160 specimens are said to currently live around the Rio Magdalena river where they are finding plenty of food and water with favourable climate. With no natural enemies and intervention, the population could grow to 1,000 animals by 2035, the minister says. She warned that such a development could threaten the original diversity of species.

Hippos can pollute the soil and water, imbalance the ecosystem and endanger local residents. “You have to be very careful,” says biologist David Echeverri from the Cornare regional environmental centre. Even if they appear to be a calm species, hippos are unpredictable.

Their weight means they are able to capsize boats. One way to slow their spread is sterilisation, albeit a ‘complex and costly process,’ according to the Ministry of the Environment.

“There is a risk that the animals will die, that they will have an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic or that the human team on site will be endangered,” the minister says.

Sterilising a hippopotamus costs an average of 40 million pesos (around $10,302). The government wanted to sterilise 20 animals by the end of 2023 and 40 per year after that.

But further measures are needed beyond sterilisation, leading the government to look to relocations. Talks are currently being held with Mexico, India and the Philippines. India has already offered to take in 60 animals.

There are also plans to assess how the animals can be euthanised under moral aspects and the ministry is working on an ethical euthanasia protocol for this purpose. Leaders in the past have also attempted to address the burgeoning population. “There is not one measure that would be effective enough to guarantee that they stop reproducing,” says Echeverri.

Simply shooting the hippos, which researchers have already recommended, is out of the question for the state of Antioquia and other animal-loving Colombians. There was massive outrage nationwide when Pepe, a stray hippopotamus, was shot on ministry orders in 2009 and soldiers posed with the slain animal. The minister stresses that transporting animals or plants can introduce diseases to Africa, highlighting the urgency for a comprehensive plan in Colombia.