Colombia is planning to send as many as
70 cocaine hippos to India and Mexico.
these are descendants of the hippos
domesticated by the drug lord Pablo
Escobar at his private Zoo . the move aims
to control the animal’s booming
population , these started in just a
population of one male and three females.
but favorable conditions and knock of
natural predator or Predator helped them
multiply manifolds. While most other
exotic animals were relocated after
Escobar’s death in 1993, hippos could not
be moved due to Transportation
difficulties.
according to government officials hippos
will be translocated to Natural
sanctuaries in India and Mexico, as these
have capacity to receive them provide
them a proper home and control their
reproduction. government has been trying
to control hippos ballooning population
but measures like castrations and shots
of contraceptive dots have failed to
produce results.
they are rapidly increasing population
is now posing environmental Challenge,
and causing troubles to locals due to
more incidents of human Wildlife
conflicts. according to experts sending
hippos back to their native land of
Africa is not allowed , whenever animals
are transferred what moves along with
them are pathogens . they’re bacteria and
their viruses.
so having been through the consequences
of a virus that wreaked havoc across the
world . one does not want to take that
chance , moreover taking them back to
Africa would cause harming to both
hippos and Africa’s ecosystem.
translocation will be completed by the
first of this year,
if Colombian government clears out all
the permits . peoples are seen as invasive
species, they are capable of causing
damage to local ecosystem as well as
humans . research even shows people waste
negatively impacts oxygen levels of
water bodies. which in turn can affect
other Aquatic animals and fishing
communities as well . hippos can also
cause harm to agriculture , as they are
aggressive plant eaters, all these
factors need to be taken into account as
Pablo’s hippos start their Journey from
the South American Nation to Mexico and
India.
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