Colombia begins sterilization of hippos descended from pets of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia on Tuesday began the sterilization of hippopotamuses, descendants of animals illegally brought to the country by late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s.

Two male hippos and one female underwent surgical sterilization, environmental authorities said. It is part of a larger government effort to control the population of more than 100 of the mammals that roam around unsupervised in some rivers.

The plan includes the sterilization of 40 hippos a year, transfer some of them to other countries and possibly euthanasia.

The hippos, which spread from Escobar’s estate into nearby rivers where they flourished, have no natural predators in Colombia and have been declared an invasive species that could upset the ecosystem.

https://apnews.com/article/colombia-hippopotamuses-pablo-escobar-sterilization-79a8ef731936e3a934e0fc4f9db5e87e