Colombian officials on Monday authorized a plan to cull dozens of hippos that roam freely through a region in the center of the country, threatening villagers and displacing native species, according to Environment Minister Irene Vélez. Vélez said earlier efforts to control the animals’ numbers had been too expensive and had not worked, including neutering some hippos or moving them to zoos. She said up to 80 hippos would be affected, but did not specify when hunting would start.
The hippos are the only wild population outside of Africa, officials said, and they trace back to animals brought to Colombia in the 1980s by Pablo Escobar. Escobar brought four hippos to his Hacienda Nápoles ranch in the Magdalena River valley and used the property as part of a private zoo. The ranch was later confiscated by Colombia’s government after it seized Escobar’s properties and now operates as a theme park.
A study published by Colombia’s National University estimated that around 170 hippos were roaming freely in the country in 2022. In more recent years, officials have said hippos have been spotted in areas more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Hacienda Nápoles, indicating that the animals have spread beyond the ranch grounds. Environmental authorities have said the mammals pose threats to people who encounter them in farms and rivers and that they compete for food and space with local species, including river manatees.
Colombia’s culling plan also highlights a conflict between wildlife-management concerns and the hippos’ growing role in local economies. Despite the risks cited by authorities, the animals have become a tourist attraction, with residents in villages surrounding Hacienda Nápoles offering hippo spotting tours and selling hippo-themed souvenirs. Hippos are also among the main attractions at the Nápoles ranch, where the confiscated property includes swimming spools, water slides, and a zoo featuring several other African species.
Vélez said the government’s decision followed repeated attempts to reduce the population over the last 12 years, spanning three presidential administrations. Authorities have tried to neuter some of the hippos, but those initiatives had limited reach because capturing the animals is difficult and performing surgeries can be costly. Vélez and other officials have also said that taking the hippos back to Africa has been considered unfeasible because the animals come from a limited gene pool and could carry diseases.
Opposition from animal welfare groups has been longstanding, and it has centered on whether culling is necessary for public safety and ecosystem protection. Andrea Padilla, a senator and animal rights activist who helped draft a law against bullfights in Colombia, described the plan to cull the hippos as “cruel.” Padilla said the decision shows officials are trying to take the easy way out, writing on X that “Killings and massacres will never be acceptable” and that “These are healthy creatures who are victims of the negligence” of government entities.