Colombia | What to do with Pablo’s hippos?

In the 1980s, there were only four hippos frolicking in the private zoo of the famous Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. But within 10 years, more than a thousand pachyderms could have invaded the valley of the Magdalena river. How will Colombia solve its “big problem”?

So there are too many hippos in Colombia? Forgive us, but does this seem like a little… grotesque news?

In effect. And we really want to smile imagining these pachyderms taking their ease outside the zoo, in the valley of the Magdalena river, in the northwest of Colombia.

Except that the more time passes, the less the locals laugh. With its big mouth and three-tonne size, the hippopotamus is one of the deadliest animals for humans. “They look heavy, but it’s very surprising to see how quickly the hippopotamus can charge,” says Karl Fournier, director of animal care at the Zoo de Granby.

One day, there will be deaths, fear the Colombian authorities. That’s why, in early March, the governor of the department of Antioquia announced plans to move 70 hippos overseas.

The hippopotamus is native to Africa. How did he end up 11,000 km away?

In the 1980s, drug trafficker Pablo Escobar illegally imported several exotic animals to his Hacienda Nápoles ranch east of Medellín, including four hippos (one male and three females). When the Escobar empire fell in the early 1990s, the ranch was seized by the government. Most of the animals have been relocated to other zoos, except for the hippos, which have been left alone in their pond. Too quiet, one must believe, since they ended up extending their territory well beyond the limits of Hacienda Nápoles.

But isn’t it good news that hippos, a vulnerable species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, have found a new wild haven?

It is indeed a vulnerable species in its natural environment, in sub-Saharan Africa, due to droughts and poaching.

But in Colombia, the mastodon takes advantage of an environment without natural predators (crocodiles, lions, hyenas, etc.) and has thus been able to reproduce at a steady pace – females can give birth to 25 baby hippopotamuses during their 40 years of life. .

In a study published in 2021, Colombian biologist Nataly Castelblanco indicated that the population has increased from 35 individuals in 2012 to nearly 80 in 2020. It would be 150 today. If nothing is done to control the population, wrote M^me Castelblanco in 2021, the population could reach 1400 individuals in 2034.

The presence of herds has consequences on the local ecosystem. Their excreta rich in nitrites cause an increase in cyanobacteria and endanger aquatic fauna and flora. The manatee, a native mammal whose survival is already threatened, cannot compete with the hippopotamus to defend its territory and access to food.

What to do then to prevent the hippopotamus from crushing Colombia?

In the 2021 study, Colombian biologists said the ideal scenario would be to “kill or castrate” 30 animals each year to avoid disaster.

Castrating a three-ton spawner is no small feat… Obviously, the animal must be sedated while it is on dry land before approaching with the scalpel. Castration is expensive: around $50,000 per animal, according to a Colombian veterinarian interviewed by the BBC. For two years, a method of chemical castration (administered by a dart fired from a gun) has been used on 38 individuals, with results that are difficult to assess.

What about hunting?

It is obviously a cheaper solution than the authorities had adopted in the 2000s. But the experience shocked public opinion when soldiers published a photo where they proudly posed with their hunting trophy…

Good. There is therefore the option of moving the animals. But again, the bill will be salty?

Without a doubt. Estimates suggest that transporting 20 to 30 hippos on a cargo plane could cost anywhere from $400,000 (to Mexico) to $900,000 (to India), both destinations with ready sanctuaries.

But before putting the hippos on the plane, they still have to be captured… “How are they going to capture 70 hippos? Asks, intrigued, Karl Fournier. The Zoo de Granby has already organized pachyderm transports. “But it was one specimen at a time,” says Mr. Fournier, and the animals, already in captivity, had been acclimatized to their transport cage before the move. “The biggest challenge during transport is to prevent the animals from lying down too long to prevent their muscles from stiffening. »

Apart from India and Mexico, have other destinations been mentioned by Colombia?

Yes: its neighbour, Ecuador. Except that last Tuesday, the Ecuadorian government offered a “categorical no” to Colombia. The cost of importing and harboring hippos “doesn’t make sense”, Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique told Efe news agency. The latter nevertheless wished “good luck to Colombia” with its “big problem”…

Sources: Agence France-Presse, BBC, washington post, Nature