Pablo Escobar”s ‘Cocaine Hippos’ To Be Rein In By Colombia

The media likes to call them “cocaine hippos.” And there are many. At the time when Pablo Escobar was the world’s most famous drug lord, he was so decadent that he imported animals into his Colombian compound that, ecologically, should not be there. Zebras, giraffes, kangaroos, rhinos. And four hippos. After Escobar’s death in 1993, most of these animals died or were sent to zoos. But not hippos. There are now around 170 of them, descendants of the original quartet, who have long posed a threat to the country’s ecosystem.

Maybe they won’t pose a threat much longer. By The New York Timesafter about 30 years of inaction, national authorities decided to find ways to finally reign them in. The plan is to sterilize some, euthanize others and move others to sanctuaries in other countries.

They’re already hard at work: On Friday, an official said they had already surgically sterilized four hippos: two males and two females. The goal is to sterilize 40 within a year.

Escobar brought the four original hippos to his lavish estate in the 1980s, where they joined a menagerie of wild animals to entertain his guests and show off his wealth. After Escobar was killed in a shooting in Medellín, the hippos took charge of their lives. As their numbers exploded, the local reaction was a mixture of affection and terror. In 2009, a hunting party of Colombian soldiers sparked public anger after shooting and killing one of the so-called “cocaine hippos”, named Pepe.

Sterilizing hippos is not easy, as one can imagine:

Hippos can weigh more than three tonnes and spend most of their days wallowing in the water. They are therefore easier to capture at night. Experts said they were usually tranquilized with a dart and underwent surgery wherever they landed. If they jump into the water after being hit by a dart, they could drown, experts say.

“This procedure is very dangerous because the veterinarian must be very competent to sterilize him as soon as possible, before he wakes up,” said Germán Jiménez, a biologist at the Pontifical Javeriana University in Colombia.

The good news, however, is that at least Colombians won’t have to say goodbye to all the cocaine-addicted hippos.

(Via New York Times)