The Colombian government authorized plans on Monday to cull up to 80 free-roaming hippopotamuses that scientists say are threatening local communities and ecosystems.

The animals displace native species and disrupt fragile habitats, according to environmental experts. Colombia’s hippos descend from four animals illegally imported in the 1980s by drug lord Pablo Escobar for his private zoo.

Why Colombia says it needs to reduce the hippopotamus population

"We must act to reduce the hippopotamus population," Environment Minister Irene Velez Torres told journalists on Monday. 

Authorities say the large mammals pose a danger to villagers who have encountered them on farms and in rivers in central Colombia. The animals also compete for food and habitat with native species such as river manatees.

"These actions are essential ‌to protect our ecosystems and our native species," Velez added.

In the absence of natural predators, the hippo population has grown unchecked.

An estimated 200 currently roam freely the Magdalena River basin. Without intervention, their numbers could rise to around 1,000 by 2035, according to the Environment Ministry.

The program announced on Monday has a budget of 7.2 billion pesos (€1.68 million). Proposed measures include confinement and relocation and are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026.

Animal welfare groups oppose killing the hippos

Animal welfare activists argue that the hippos deserve to live. They say that addressing the problem through killing sets a poor example for a country that has experienced decades of internal conflict.

Andrea Padilla, a senator and animal rights advocate, described the plan to cull the hippos as a “cruel” decision.  The lawmaker, who helped draft legislation banning bullfights in Colombia, accused government officials of choosing the "easy way out."

“Killings and massacres will never be acceptable," Padilla wrote on X. “These are healthy creatures who are victims of the negligence of government entities."

Environment Minister Velez said previous methods to control the hippo population had been expensive and unsuccessful. In 2022 and 2023, steps were taken to relocate and sterlize the herd, but they produced no tangible results.

For months, Colombia held talks with eight governments, including India and Mexico, to ⁠possiblytransfer some of the animals to zoos or sanctuaries abroad. No authorizations have been granted so far, the minister said.

Officials say such transfers are unlikely. The herd suffers from genetic defects caused by inbreeding within a limited gene pool. For the same reason, returning the animals to their native habitat in Africa has been deemed unfeasible.

Pablo Escobar's legacy

Pablo Escobar built a private zoo at Hacienda Napoles, a huge ranch in the Magdalena River valley that he used as his countryside home and landing strip. 

After Escobar was killed by security forces in 1993, his confiscated properties were converted into a theme park, featuring swimming spools, water slides and a zoo. The descendants of Escobar’s hippos have since become one of the park’s main attractions.

Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug trafficker who led the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s. He became one of the richest criminals in history by controlling much of the cocaine trade to the United States and was notorious for extreme violence, corruption and a lavish lifestyle.

Edited by: Rob Turner