60 of those hippos can even be despatched to India

Colombia in March 2023 proposed a plan to ship no less than 70 hippos from infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar’s former ranch to India and Mexico to regulate their numbers. They have been declared an invasive species after the animals wreaked havoc on the nation’s eco-system.

As per the plan, 10 of Pablo Escobar’s hippos at the moment are being moved to a brand new location in Mexico, New York Post reported.

The animals shall be flown from Antioquia, Colombia, to Sinaloa, the Mexican province which was dwelling to cartel chief Joaquin ”El Chapo” Guzman and his sons. Once the hippos land in Sinaloa, they are going to be taken to Jesús María, the bastion the place Ovidio ”El Raton” Guzman, was captured in January after a fierce firefight. 

Their new dwelling shall be Ostok Sanctuary, a shelter for animals rescued from species trafficking/

Moving the hippos to the brand new location is an operation costing $500,000 and has been financed by conservationist Ernesto Zazueta. 

Notably, Pablo Escobar illegally introduced 4 African beasts to Colombia within the late Nineteen Eighties. The hippos have been a part of a set of unique animals like elephants, giraffes, and antelopes on the non-public zoo on his property in western Colombia. 

But after his loss of life in 1993, the hippos have been left to roam freely in a sizzling, marshy space of the Antioquia division, the place environmental authorities have been helpless to curb their numbers which now stand at 150 animals. The authorities stated they began polluting soil and water and wiping out native crops within the area. Their faeces impacts water oxygen ranges, which might decrease water high quality and end in widespread fish fatalities. 

The lifespan of a hippo is round 40-50 years, in response to National Geographic.

While authorities relocated a lot of the different animals, the hippos have been too tough to move. It can be not potential to move them again to their native Africa because it dangers upsetting the native ecosystem there.

A examine in journal Nature has warned that the hippos’ numbers might swell to 1,500 in 20 years. Authorities in Colombia used contraceptive darts and different strategies to regulate their inhabitants, however these drives have had restricted success. 

In April, one of many hippos died in Colombia in a collision with an SUV on a freeway, close to Escobar’s hacienda, as per NBC News.

Meanwhile, 60 of those hippos shall be despatched to India, as per CNN.