Why are hippos in Colombian jungles?
In the late 1970s, Pablo Escobar, the head of the Medellin Cartel, acquired four hippos to accompany elephants, giraffes, and antelopes at his private zoo on the Hacienda Nápoles estate in western Colombia. When Escobar surrendered in 1991, the land was confiscated, and the animals were allowed to roam. What began as a private menagerie soon sprawled into an ecological issue that local authorities could not easily fix. Today the hippos are an invasive, self-sustaining population that challenges local ecosystems and defies simple solutions.
Over the past three decades, the original four hippos multiplied, producing more than 130 individuals. They are non-native to South America and have settled along the Magdalena River in central Colombia, expanding their range and influence with no natural predators nearby.
Authorities are now attempting to move roughly 70 of Pablo Escobar’s famous hippos out of the country, as their populations continue to disrupt local ecosystems. The animals are notoriously difficult to capture, and initial government expectations were that they would perish in a foreign, unfamiliar environment.
What happened instead was a perfect fit for these highly territorial creatures. Thirty years on, a population of about 130 persists across Colombia, making them one of the most notable invasive species on the planet.
Ecological damage to local rivers
The debate among government agencies and scientists has persisted for years on how to address the hippos. Conservationists warn about the ecological impact on the Magdalena river basin, and last year the Colombian government officially designated the hippos as an invasive species.
By 2009, national authorities considered extreme measures but faced significant public resistance. Plans to euthanize the hippos sparked protests and ultimately stalled. A legal challenge was filed in 2020 to block euthanasia and to advocate for alternatives, including sterilization. Early efforts focused on spaying and immunocontraception, but results were uneven and sometimes disappointing.
To date, about 13 hippos have been neutered, and five have been relocated to local zoos. The question remains: is this a success? David Echeverri of the regional environmental agency Cornare acknowledged that capturing and neutering is complex, dangerous, and slow, yet not a fully effective remedy. Female hippos can bear a calf roughly every two years, so the population can rebound quickly if control measures lag.
In response, Cornare expanded its toolkit in the last two years with GonaCon, a chemical birth-control agent supplied by the United States. The drug is delivered via dart and targets both male and female hippos. Last year, 38 hippos were treated, though the exact identities of treated animals remain unclear. Echeverri notes that ongoing tracking is arduous, with attempts to mark individuals by paint, satellite tags, and collars often thwarted by the hippos’ persistence. The plan for this year is to pair the darts with tattoo ink to improve identification during follow-up efforts.
Facing the challenge of containment, authorities have explored relocating some hippos to India and Mexico to curb population growth while ensuring they live in environments that do not threaten ecosystems. Transport will be costly: cargo planes can carry between 20 and 30 hippos per flight. A trip to Mexico could cost around 400,000 dollars, and a flight to India could run about 900,000 dollars. This approach represents a significant, ongoing effort to address a legacy that remains unresolved decades after it began.
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