{"id":318755,"date":"2026-04-15T00:53:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=318755"},"modified":"2026-04-15T00:53:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:23:30","slug":"dozens-of-cocaine-hippos-tied-to-drug-lord-pablo-escobar-to-be-euthanized-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/dozens-of-cocaine-hippos-tied-to-drug-lord-pablo-escobar-to-be-euthanized-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens of \u2018cocaine hippos\u2019 tied to drug lord Pablo Escobar to be euthanized &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Colombian officials said this week they planned to euthanize several dozen free-roaming \u201ccocaine hippos\u201d living in a central region of the country where they wreak havoc on local villagers, disrupt the ecosystem and threaten native species, years after notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar illegally introduced the animals.<\/p>\n<p>Environment Minister Irene Velez announced a brand new set of measures Monday designed to assist control the population of about 80 hippos after previous attempts failed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video_miniplayer\">\n<section id=\"miniplayer_69de901e5f4cd-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" aria-label=\"Video carousel contains 3 videos.\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__inner\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__featured\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"true\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer_69de901e5f4cd\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"4389223\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/playlist\/4389223,11283399,3833781\/?poster=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fmedia.globalnews.ca%2Fvideostatic%2F301%2F407%2Fthumber.jpg%3Fw%3D1200%26quality%3D70%26strip%3Dall#autoplay&#038;stickyiframe=miniplayer_69de901e5f4cd\" data-displayinline-playlist=\"4389223,11283399,3833781\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\" data-permutive-data='{\"content\":{\"name\":\"Police investigating after man seen spanking hippo at Los Angeles Zoo\",\"type\":\"video\",\"sections\":[\"videos\",\"national\",\"crime\",\"world\"],\"keywords\":[\"caught-on-camera\",\"hippo\",\"los-angeles\",\"los-angeles-zoo\",\"slap\"],\"iab\":{\"categories\":[\"Sensitive Subjects\"],\"tags\":[\"Africa\",\"Amusement park\",\"Anadolu Agency\",\"Animal\",\"Antioquia Department\",\"Biodiversity\",\"Birth rate\",\"Calgary\",\"Calgary Zoo\",\"Capybara\",\"Cocaine\",\"Colombia\",\"Drug\",\"Drug lord\",\"Ecosystem\",\"Ecuador\",\"Euthanasia\",\"Feces\",\"Genetic disorder\",\"Getty Images\",\"Global News\",\"Habitat\",\"Hacienda\",\"Hacienda Nu00e1poles\",\"Halloween\",\"Herd\",\"Hippopotamus\",\"Hippopotamuses in Colombia\",\"Image\",\"Inbreeding\",\"India\",\"Internet\",\"Invasive species\",\"Lake\",\"Los Angeles\",\"Los Angeles Zoo\",\"Magdalena River\",\"Manatee\",\"Mexican peso\",\"Mexico\",\"Moo Deng\",\"Native species\",\"Pablo Escobar\",\"Peru\",\"Pet\",\"Philippines\",\"Pollution\",\"Population\",\"Population growth\",\"Predation\",\"Pygmy hippopotamus\",\"Ranch\",\"Reuters\",\"River\",\"South Africa\",\"Species\",\"The Hau00e7ienda\",\"Transport\",\"Turtle\",\"United States\",\"Water pollution\",\"Zoo\"]}}}'>\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Police investigating after man seen spanking hippo at Los Angeles Zoo'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/301\/407\/thumber.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">1:06<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Police investigating after man seen spanking hippo at Los Angeles Zoo<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe must act to scale back the hippopotamus population,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The South American country is home to some 200\u00a0hippos\u00a0within the central region near the Magdalena River. If control measures should not adopted, the population could increase to as many as 1,000 by 2035, Velez said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get each day National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get each day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you may never miss the day&#8217;s top stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThese actions are essential to guard our ecosystems and our native species,\u201d she told journalists, noting that population growth threatens species like river turtles and manatees and causes water pollution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe imagine there could also be roughly 80 individuals that could possibly be subject to the measure (of euthanasia),\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tHippos are seen swimming near the Magdalena River in Doradal, Colombia, on March 29, 2022.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tJuancho Torres\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The country\u2019s first 4 cocaine hippos were introduced illegally within the late Eighties by Escobar, who ran a non-public zoo on considered one of his ranch properties. Since then, the population has grown despite some intervention efforts from provincial powers to regulate birth rates.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Colombia is the one country outside Africa with a wild hippo population, which descends entirely from these first 4 hippos.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Trending<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0cocaine hippos escaped Escobar\u2019s Hacienda Napoles ranch after the drug lord was killed by national police in 1993. Since then, they&#8217;ve taken up residence throughout the region.<\/p>\n<p>The federal government\u2019s latest initiative, costing $7.2 billion pesos (US$1.98 million), will employ a wide range of methods, similar to confinement and relocation, in one more try and wrangle the animals.<\/p>\n<p>Colombia entered talks months ago with eight governments, including India, Mexico, the Philippines, Ecuador, Peru and South Africa, to debate the possible transfer of some animals to zoos or sanctuaries in those countries, however the vital authorizations haven&#8217;t yet been obtained, Velez said.<\/p>\n<p>Resulting from inbreeding, some hippos have genetic defects, which have reduced other countries\u2019 interest in them.<\/p>\n<p>This is just not the primary time Colombian authorities have proposed a scheme to administer the descendants of Escobar\u2019s imported pets.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, they recommend a plan to capture and transport 70 hippos to India and Mexico after a big population of the African species had proliferated within the rivers and lakes around Escobar\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n<p>Hippos shouldn&#8217;t have a natural predator in Colombia and pose a possible threat to biodiversity, as their feces alter river composition and will affect the habitats of manatees and capybaras.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In 2022, Colombia\u2019s government declared the cocaine hippos a toxic invasive species, sparking fears among the many locals that the beloved animals could be culled or sterilized.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <em>With files from Reuters and Global News staff<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colombian officials said this week they planned to euthanize several dozen free-roaming \u201ccocaine hippos\u201d living in a central region of the country where they wreak havoc on local villagers, disrupt the ecosystem and threaten native species, years after notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar illegally introduced the animals. Environment Minister Irene Velez announced a brand new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":318756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[12100,8287,3422,42680,25587,30218,2283,1903,26607,9847],"class_list":["post-318755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-cocaine","tag-dozens","tag-drug","tag-escobar","tag-euthanized","tag-hippos","tag-lord","tag-national","tag-pablo","tag-tied"],"aioseo_notices":[{"message":"The permalink for this post just changed! 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