Following the recommendations of the National Technical Committee for Introduced and / or Transplanted Invasive Species, the Colombian Ministry of the Environment has announced that it will include hippos in the list of invasive species. But what does this mean?
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
In the early 4s, drug trafficker Pablo Escobar illegally imported 2 hippos, three females and one male, for his private zoo in the Hacienda Nápoles. After his death on December 1993, XNUMX, much of his property, including some of the animals on his estate, were confiscated by the Colombian government. The hippos stayed out of that confiscation.
Since then, thanks to the inertia of the various Colombian governments on duty, the four animals, abandoned in the Maddalena River, have easily adapted to their new habitat and reproduced with considerable success, to the point of activating an alarm for the impact and the consequences. negative of their presence in the native ecosystems of the South American country.
A solution that takes all factors into account may perhaps come. On Friday, Colombia's Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development officially announced that it will include hippos in the list of invasive species, as recommended by the National Technical Committee for Introduced and / or Transplanted Invasive Species. But what does this mean?
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Hippos, an invasive species in Colombia
The debate is not new, the measures adopted are. For years we have been discussing the risks, the institutional responsibilities and the possible solutions regarding the growth and territorial expansion of hippos in Colombia, and this new decision - albeit belated - opens the doors for the definition of the first concrete measures useful for addressing the complicated situation of this kind in the country.
We are working with scientific and rigorous information on the roadmap for decision making regarding control and management measures for this species in Colombia, ”said Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Carlos Eduardo Correa.
Furthermore, Minister Correa stressed that by declaring hippos as an invasive species, as recommended by the Committee, progress is being made with concrete and timely actions for the management of the species, as previously agreed in the meeting called precisely by the Ministry of the Environment to analyze the results of the study of hippos in the country.
The solution: a difficult equation
The study conducted by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute and the Institute of Natural Sciences of the National University highlighted the environmental risks due to the invasion of the hippo in strategic ecosystems and their impact on some native species of Colombia. There are now 133 hippos, but according to their estimates, this population could reach 2034 individuals by 783 and 2039 by 1418.
Of course, no one wants to kill these beautiful animals, which are sentient beings who cannot be blamed for their presence, but we are faced with the dilemma as to whether we need to do something with them. We can no longer delay the problem. We need to act, ”said Daniel Cadena, dean of Los Andes Faculty of Sciences.
It is this "but" that worries us. For the study authors, the solution must include more actions, including the hunt for control. In fact, they report that the intervention must provide for a significant elimination of animals so that the population can be eradicated in 2033, because as they affirm, in the hypothetical case in which all individuals were castrated, since they are long-lived animals, the impact on the ecosystem would continue to be important for several decades to come.
However, for some experts, in this equation, it is also important to include the point of view of the communities living in the Colombian regions where hippos are present. Unlike Africa, where they are considered dangerous due to their multiple attacks, in Colombia many consider them to be noble and meek animals and have allowed the development of ecological tourism.
The hippopotamus Pepe
In 2009 "Pepe", one of Escobar's hippos, was hunted down with the help of experts brought in from Africa, but the cruel death of the animal outraged the local communities and moved the country, causing a great protest that divided the Colombia for a long time. This is why it is important to find different solutions that take into account all the different factors involved.
The exclusive dependence on experts (and the non-inclusion of communities) creates a resentment towards people who feel excluded, a resentment towards the strategies, projects and bodies that carry them out ", said Isabel Naudín, medical director for the Latin America by Animal Balance.
This is Pepe, the hippopotamus that @DanielSamperPi talks about in his column #EllosalsoSonColombianos in #LosDanieles pic.twitter.com/tmrOVu9CVp
– The Daniels (@losdanieles) November 28, 2021
The manatee, one of the species threatened by hippos
In Africa, hippos have to compete with other species and their expansion is controlled by natural predators, disease and dry seasons. In Colombia none of this happens, on the contrary they have optimal conditions for their survival and reproduction. This well-being, however, puts a strain on the local fauna and flora.
Among the species threatened by hippos is the manatee, an animal declared at risk of extinction. Their presence in fact aggravates even more their already critical situation caused by habitat loss and illegal hunting. However, it is not the only threatened species, some endemic fish will not survive the reduction in oxygen levels resulting from hippo feces.
About 30 years have passed since his death, but Escobar's legacy and selfishness still accompany us. The decision of the Colombian Ministry of the Environment rekindles the hope - with many uncertainties - to address the situation of hippos in the country, hoping that a just and reasonable compromise can be found in which all forms of life are taken into consideration, in a way to avoid acting as was done with Pepe.
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Source: Minambiente / Uniandes
About hippos in Colombia, you can also read:
- Pablo Escobar's hippos are the first animals to be declared "legal persons" in the United States
- Pablo Escobar's hippos will not be sacrificed, Colombia starts the pilot project to sterilize them
- Pablo Escobar's hippos have colonized the rivers of Colombia. And now they want to take them all down
