Why Pablo Escobar's Hippos Are Posing To Be A Problem


In Columbia, a South-American country, it is the collective opinion of various scientists and biologists to cull the population of “cocaine hippos”, popularly known as Pablo Escobar’s hippos.

The fact that these hippos have become habitual to their non-home lands i.e., Colombia, is posing some serious environmental threats. Furthermore, the presence of the Hippos can be possibly prevented only by reducing their population before it is too late.

However, this species which was brought in by the famous criminal Pablo Escobar does have large support from the Colombian citizens. It is this support that plays a key role in preserving this species to an appreciable level.

 

Background of These Hippos

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, also known as Pablo Escobar simply, was the cornerstone in this lengthy tale of hippos and the prevailing conditions of the hippos and the Colombian people. Though, the concerns pertinent to this matter are raised by people globally.

Pablo Escobar was a notorious drug lord and narcoterrorist, who was one of a kind. Besides, he was the founder of the MedellĂ­n drugs cartel in the year 1976. Moreover, he was accountable for numerous kidnappings, bombings and indiscriminate murders.

Popularly known as the ‘King of Cocaine’, Escobar was the wealthiest criminal till date as he had a net worth of approximately $30billion US dollars which is equivalent to $59 US dollars as of the year 2019. 

Besides the whole nexus of cocaine and drugs built up by this criminal, Escobar is also responsible for the Pablo Escobar’s hippos that take the name after the former.

Escobar at his peak time, imported many hippos for his private zoo which have now been continually breeding and producing the progenies to an appreciable level.

Consequently, these “cocaine hippos” have been spreading across Colombia’s main waterways i.e., the River Magdalena. 

The surge of these hippos initiated in the year 1993 after the apparent elimination of Pablo Escobar and further seizure of his luxury property Hacienda Napoles. 

At that moment, all the animals were shifted to the zoos across the nation but transferring the hippos was specifically more problematic due to their mass and uncertain behaviour. 

As a result, the authorities left the hippos at that place only, thinking that those will apparently vanish with time.

However, the hippos apparently survived and bred throughout the years, besides becoming habitual to such non-home waters, as conventionally this species is native to Africa.

 

Population and Future Estimates

The recent estimates suggest a range of about 80 to 120 hippos which are present in the Colombian waterways. According to scientists, this number is the largest hippo group witnessed in a region where these hippos are counted in the invasive species list. 

On drawing statistics, biologists and conservation science scholars are sure that this number would only grow exponentially. By the early 2034, there is an estimate that the cohort will be of around 1400 hippos given there is no culling process.

There is a figure that suggests that these progenies have descended from a group of one male and three female hippos.

In order to halt such growth, there is a suggestion with concrete scientific calculations, that there needs to be a culling of 30 hippos annually by any means.

 

Causes of the Magnanimous Growth

The hippos have an evolutionary given, that there are no predators for this species in the Colombian waters. As a result, these species have thrived and successfully bred so that hippos can be produced to the specific range as described above.

Even the weather of Colombia plays a crucial role in making this invasive species a success story in a non-home land. Africa is characterized by its harsh droughts which have negative impacts on a variety of flora and fauna including hippos.

However, this trait is not applicable to its new home i.e., Colombian waters, the hippos are not only able to thrive but also reproduce at a much earlier stage.

 

Impacts on Ecosystem

Scientists who have been studying these invasive hippos have revealed the various impacts the latter possibly has on the surrounding environment, in which it is dwelling.

These impacts that could possibly affect the ecosystem in a negative way include displacement of native species from Colombian waters which are already under the impression of being extinct and modification of the chemical nature of the waterways as a consequence of which other fishes might get endangered.

Besides, there is also another extreme opinion, that Escobar hippos are not that bad and just adding on to the ecosystem services with their presence. 

Like bringing nutrients from wetlands to water, modifying the structure of wetlands, and eating the grass further keeping a check on them, are some of the pros, which are advocated by some scholars and scientists.

However, the cons are somewhat the stuff that incites the scientists more as considering that the suspected exponential growth of this species is a threat to the people living nearby.

 

Solutions

Hippos have had a considerable amount of support from Colombian citizens. Moreover, people have greatly disapproved the idea of culling them as they have formed sorts of a connection with the animal.

To give a more ethical way of reducing this species, many scientists have come up with the idea of sterilization. However, this method was too taxing to perform.

There were many setbacks owing to the weight of the hippos which nearly reach 5 tons or so, plus the aggressive emotional make up of the animal leads to an extremely difficult procedure. Besides this, the cost of one sterilization procedure is approximately $50,000 US dollars. 

Even many of the hippos live in the wild making it further tough for the authorities to individually find hippos and sterilize them. 

In all, authorities are stuck in a conundrum of how to bring a stop to this highly progressive growth of Pablo Escobar hippos.

 

Written by - Khushboo Dhuliya 

Edited by - Christeena George