What began as an eccentricity of drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s has turned into a large-scale environmental crisis. Escobar brought four hippos to Colombia from Africa for his private zoo at Hacienda Napoles. Decades later, these animals have multiplied out of control, and today it is estimated that there are more than 200 specimens living freely near the Magdalena River, seriously affecting local ecosystems.
The situation has escalated to such an extent that, in September 2024, the Colombian government officially declared “war” on the hippos. A court ordered the Ministry of Environment to present a plan to eradicate the species, contemplating measures such as sterilization, relocation and even controlled hunting.
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This decision responds not only to the ecological impact, such as the destruction of nests of endemic turtles or the proliferation of toxic algae due to their waste, but also to the growing risk to human safety.
Measures to control the hippopotamus population in Colombia
In the midst of this panorama, renowned biologist and television presenter Forrest Galante has joined the efforts to control this invasive population. Galante, known for his shows on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, recently traveled to Colombia with his team to design a sustainable plan of action. “We didn’t come to solve the problem, because that would be crazy, but we did come to create a realistic strategy,” he said.
Galante’s plan includes capturing juveniles for sterilization, castrating breeding males and relocating viable specimens. However, this is no easy task: hippos are intelligent, dangerous and difficult to capture. His team used traditional African traps baited with carrots and watermelons, managing to catch some young ones, although this alerted the rest of the herd, complicating future captures.
Plans to send hippos to other sanctuaries around the world
In addition to collaborating on the ground, Galante works with international sanctuaries such as Vantara in India, with the aim of relocating part of the population to controlled environments. The sanctuary, founded by Anant Ambani, son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, could receive up to 60 hippos. By 2023, 10 specimens had already been moved to a refuge in Mexico, in an unprecedented effort of environmental diplomacy.
With a new program on the way to document this mission, Forrest Galante seeks to highlight the risk of leaving invasive species unchecked for decades. His message is clear: if swift and decisive action is not taken, the more than 200 hippos today could become thousands, threatening Colombia’s biodiversity and ecological stability.
This news was originally published on this post .
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