Inhabitants of Magdalena Medio denounce that they are in danger due to the presence of a panther

In addition to the violence caused by armed groups, the inhabitants of the Magdalena Medio subregion must live with wild animals that threaten their lives. On March 22, peasants from El Porvenir village in Barrancabermeja (Santander) reported that they have found panther tracks near their homes. In addition, they say that this animal has already attacked some of their animals, such as calves, buffalo babies, dogs, cats, chigüiros and cattle.

It should be noted that the inhabitants of the village say that the panther has been hunting in the area near their homes for three months. At this time, according to the peasants, 20 animals have been attacked, therefore, they fear that a human will be the next victim.

Faced with the danger, the Santander Environmental Corporation (CAS) decided to send a team of professionals to the area to identify the animal. Likewise, they seek to calm citizens and provide guidelines for managing the situation.

The environmental authority pointed out that, in recent years, there has been no record of panther or jaguar attacks against humans in the north-eastern region. However, in October of last year, in Magdalena Medio, occasionally in Puerto Triunfo (Antioquia), there was a hippo attack on a human.

Preliminary versions indicated that the accident occurred around one of the lakes where the females go to give birth and in which they evidenced the presence of a mother hippo with her calf. Apparently the man got closer than recommended to the scene and the animal attacked him to defend his little boy.

“It is possible that the person involved in the accident got too close to this female with her calf and hippos tend to attack because of their protective instinct,” said David Echeverri López, coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Group of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Negro and Nare River Basins (Cornare).

After being attacked, the person was taken to a healthcare center in the municipality of Rionegro and received proper care there until she stabilized and was discharged.

It is worth mentioning that, in addition to posing a risk to people's lives, hippos are also dangerous to ecosystems. A study of the lakes inhabited by hippos in Colombia in 2020 revealed that nutrients in animal feces were causing large births of bacteria and algae. In turn, this reduced the oxygen level of the water, making it toxic to fish.

But the task of getting hippos out of the country is complex and costly. The most controversial alternative is to sacrifice these animals, but hundreds of animalist organizations have opposed this. Even at the end of October 2021, a US court declared the hippos living in the Middle Magdalena a subject of rights, preventing their annihilation.

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