Once again they capture a hippo on video in the streets of Doradal

One problem that has affected the Puerto Triunfo municipality, in Antioquia, for several years is the overpopulation of hippos due to the animals that Pablo Escobar took to his farm, Hacienda Nápoles, in the 1980s and began to reproduce in an uncontrolled manner.

Recently, a video was released that documented the moment when a hippo wanders through the streets of Doradal, Puerto Triunfo district.

Unsurprisingly, since this is not the first time that such a situation has been recorded, the inhabitants of the sector recorded with their cell phones the moment when the artiodactyl mammal walks quietly through the streets of the village.

It should be remembered that at the beginning of this month, two specimens of this large animal were seen walking in the same village.

Likewise, it should be noted that, although it is not common, these animals have attacked the inhabitants of Doradal on different occasions. The last case was reported in October last year.

The Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Negro and Nare River Basins (Cornare) confirmed that a citizen was attacked by a female hippo who sought to defend his calf. The man was seriously injured after being rammed by the mammal.

Pablo Escobar's Hippos, a Threat to Colombia's Native Species and Strategic Ecosystems

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia determined that the 133 hippos that are present in the country, a species introduced more than 40 years ago to the national territory at the request of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, pose a threat to strategic ecosystems and native species such as manatees.

This was evidenced in their most recent study, carried out in agreement with the Ministry of Environment, in which they were able to establish that these animals, which have migrated from the Middle Magdalena to the Momposina Depression, have a higher growth rate than that recorded in Africa, because there are no natural controllers that contain their reproduction.

In this regard, he explained that the committee will define whether it is necessary to declare this species as invasive in the country, considering the analysis of the risks that these specimens represent in the national territory, in order to define the actions that must be taken urgently to address this situation environmental.

“In this report it was clear to us that this species must be declared, first, as a dangerous invasive species and, secondly, to make a management plan that includes different types of measures that have not been addressed so far, it is a long menu,” explained the teacher of Los Andes and former Minister of Environment Manuel Rodríguez, who made part of the event at which the report was presented.

For her part, the rector of the EAN University, Brigitte Baptiste, stated that the fundamental thing is to chart a path that is socially accepted, legally valid and politically robust, insisting on the need to communicate the scope of this problem at economic, social and ecological levels, which must be solved by its risk for the environment, species and inhabitants of these regions.

“According to the study's projections, by 2030 there would be around 434 individuals, which represents a high threat to the maintenance of ecosystems and species typical of Colombian biodiversity, considering that it is a rapidly growing population, with rates above 14%,” warned the Ambiente portfolio.

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