Colombian authorities have announced that they will include hippos, which were introduced into the country by drug trafficker Pablo Escobaron the list of invasive species based on technical and scientific studies.
This decision, detailed by the Ministry of Environment in a statement, is the first step to define concrete actions against the situation of the species in the country and was taken by the National Technical Committee for Introduced and/or Transplanted Invasive Species.
“We work with scientific and rigorous information on the roadmap for decision-making regarding control and management measures for this species in Colombia. For this reason, the Ministry of the Environment will adopt the recommendation of the National Committee for Introduced Species and/or Invasive Transplants from declare the hippopotamus an invasive species“, declared the Minister of the Environment, Carlos Correa.
In this sense, the minister pointed out that a study of hippos in the country carried out by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute and the Institute of Natural Sciences of the National University showed the environmental risks caused by the invasion of this species in strategic ecosystems, as well as the risks to native species.
Hippopotamuses were introduced in Colombia more than 40 years ago and have migrated from Magdalena Medio to the Momposina Depression, according to the study by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute and the National University, being a threat to native species such as the manateeas well as for the country’s strategic ecosystems.
It was the Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar who imported in 1981 from a zoo in the United States four hipposthree females and one male, to be part of the collection of exotic animals at his Hacienda Nápoles, and now they have reproduced without control.
Source: Lasexta
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