Drug baron Pablo Escobar once brought four African hippos to Colombia for his own private zoo and now they are a multi-tonne problem. Escobar, the head of the powerful Medellín cartel, was shot dead in 1993, but his hippos remain and have since become an outsize pest, disrupting the local ecosystem, destroying fields and endangering residents. The government long delayed tackling the invasive species but has now come up with a range of solutions, starting with sterilization. "Surgical sterilizat
Colombia will try to control its population of more than 100 hippopotamuses, descendants of animals illegally brought to the country by late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, through surgical sterilization, the transfer of hippos to other countries and possibly euthanasia, the government said Thursday. 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.
Horse & Hound Veterinary Services - Horse & Hound Veterinary Services - Belfast - Waldo villagesoup.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from villagesoup.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.