By Ricardo Lezama La Cartita (@LaCartita)
13/mar/2023
In an effort to control their growing population, the Colombian government is planning to relocate 70 of the “cocaine hippos” – descendants of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar’s private menagerie – to sanctuaries in India and Mexico.
The original hippos were part of a collection of exotic animals Escobar had amassed in the 1980s at his ranch and after his death in 1993, authorities relocated most of the other animals, but not the hippos. However, they have since begun to reproduce rapidly, and now pose an environmental challenge and concern for nearby residents.
This relocation is intended to be the latest attempt to manage their numbers, as other contraceptive measures have been unsuccessful.
The hippos will travel in boxes and authorities hope to learn how to regulate their numbers, reduce their threat to local ecosystems, agriculture, and human safety. The translocation could be completed by the first half of this year if necessary permits are expedited.