A hippo died this Tuesday evening after being run over on a highway in Colombia, a country where this species, imported in 1984 by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, is considered invasive, a fire service source said.
The animal, weighing more than a ton, was run over on the highway that connects Bogotá to Medellín, in an area close to a property belonging to Pablo Escobar, Maria Magdalena Pérez, commander of the fire department of the municipality of Puerto Triunfo, in the department of Antioquia (northwest).
The front of the truck involved in the accident was smashed, the same source added, adding that the driver escaped unharmed.
At the height of his criminal empire, Escobar built a zoo on his 3,000-acre Hacienda Nápoles, located in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia Department.
The famous drug trafficker imported exotic animals from all over the world to that place, made an impact through the extravagance of the property, where he installed a small plane at the entrance gate that symbolized the mode of transportation of his shipments of cocaine to the United States.
After his death in 1993, and with the end of his drug cartel, Escobar’s zoo animals were left unsupervised, in an environment that was not their own, and found a new home in the plains of Magdalena Medio, to which they quickly became accustomed. , due to the favorable conditions of the country, irrigated by the waters of the Magdalena River, the most important in Colombia.
Over time, however, hippos have become a danger to the region’s wildlife, flora and farmers, with one seriously injured when attacked in 2020 while fumigating a pasture.
The number of individuals of this species is currently estimated at 150.
It is not the first time that a car accident involving a hippo has occurred in the region.
In December, a collision between a car and one of these giant mammals from Africa caused no injuries and the animal survived and fled.
The Colombian Ministry of the Environment declared the species invasive in 2022, paving the way for possible hunting.
A sterilization program was even developed, but failed.
Experts believe that their uncontrolled reproduction poses a threat to the local population and wildlife.
In March, the governor of the Antioquia Department announced a plan to send 72 hippos to Mexico, India and Ecuador, at an estimated cost of $3.5 million (about $3.2 million).
But also in March, Ecuador “categorically” refused to be available to host hippos.
Source: DN
