▲ The picture above is not related to the content of the article.
Colombia in South America is struggling to deal with the'Drug King's Hippopotamus', which has grown in number.
Colombian environmental authority'CORNARE' said on the 8th (local time), "We met with the Ministry of Environment to find a solution to the hippopotamus problem in the Magdalena River." I asked the embassy for assistance.”
CONARE, which has jurisdiction over the hippopotamus issue, added that chemical castration is currently the "most viable alternative" under consideration to control hippopotamus populations.
These hippos, also called'cocaine hippos', came to Colombia in the 1980s.
Colombia's notorious'Drug King' Pablo Escobar created a private zoo in the private property'Acienda Napoles' and brought in African animals such as elephants and giraffes.
After his death in 1993, animals were moved to other places or died, but three female hippos and one male were left in the wild, brought from the US zoo.
Hippos breed rapidly in the banks of the Magdalena River, rich in water and prey and without natural enemies.
Currently, the number of hippos is estimated to be between 65 and 80, which has doubled in the past eight years.
The hippopotamus, which cannot be seen in the wild in South America, has become a specialty and tourism product of Hacienda Napoles, which has been transformed into a theme park, but has no significant adverse effects on the local ecosystem and people.
In May of last year, a man in his 40s was attacked by a hippopotamus, causing serious injuries, threatening humans, and damaging livestock.
Research has also shown that it changes the quality of nearby water.
Researchers from Colombia and Mexico predicted that the number of hippos could grow to 1,400 by 2034 if the trend goes along in a paper published last month in the international journal Bioconservation.
The researchers suggested that, coupled with climate change, hippos could live in large quantities in northern Colombia, and that proactive measures, such as killing, are needed to avoid long-term negative effects.
However, the killing of hippos, who have become unofficial mascots of the region and are not endangered globally, is quite controversial.
Animal groups and other groups have been fiercely opposed over the killing of a hippopotamus that invaded the farmhouse in 2009.
The neuterization procedure is also in progress, but it is not easy and expensive, the Associated Press explained.
As an alternative, the authorities are seeking to secure US-made chemicals used in pigs and other products to promote chemical castration.
CONARE said it looks forward to the start of chemical castration by the end of this year, and requested support from related agencies.
(Photo = Getty Image Korea)