Colombia’s Cocaine Hippo Problem Is Worse Than You Think

A marine biologist dives into the history and future of Colombia's cocaine hippos and other invasive species.

00:00 - Hippos in Colombia
02:24 - Hippo Facts
04:47 - Why Are Invasive Species a Problem?
06:17 - The American Hippo Bill
08:14 - Colombian Cocaine Hippos Are a Problem
09:15 - Will Colombian Hippos Be Euthanized?

Columbia's cocaine hippos are a big, big problem. One that began in 1979, when infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar decided to build a private zoo. But calling Hacienda Napoles a “private zoo” is underselling it. At ten times the size of Disneyland, it was home to roughly 1,200 exotic animals.

Most of the animals were donated to various South American zoos. Except the hippos. Seizing and moving them was simply too dangerous, and apparently everyone was afraid to go near them, so the hippos were left to fend for themselves in the abandoned zoo.

The hippos quickly broke free and spread out to the Magdalena River System where “they were reproducing out of control and were soon to become an invasive species that would be difficult and expensive to manage.” By 2007, the 4 hippos had become 16. By 2014, there were 40 hippos. In 2019, there were 120 hippos. Today, there are at least 215 hippos and growing. “Population projections estimate that there could be thousands within a few decades.”

These hippos are dramatically changing the geography of the Magdalena Basin in ways that could disrupt the migrations of endangered manatees. Also, as we’ve mentioned, hippos are aggressive and territorial and this aggression is displacing manatees along with capybaras, caimans, and neotropical river otters. There are also two critically endangered turtles that are only found in this river system that are threatened by the hippos. The Magdalena river turtle and Dahl’s toad-headed turtle.

So what’s being done to control the explosion of this invasive species? Unfortunately, not a lot. In 2009, a plan was formed to euthanize the 16 hippos. But many locals and animal rights groups successfully blocked this effort despite the findings of scientific studies and the warnings of conservationists. “Animal rights activism has an important electoral weight in Colombia across the political divide.”

CORRECTION:
04:50 I meant to say Captain Cook introduced rabbits to New Zealand in 1777, not 1977.

Sources:
[1] https://envhistnow.com/2023/12/20/we-are-running-out-of-time-to-control-escobars-hippos/
[2] https://latestsightings.com/single-post/hippo-topples-a-boat-with-rescuer-inside
[3] https://teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/page-5
[4] https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/colombia-announces-plan-to-cull-pablo-escobars-feral-hippos/
[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10106455/#_ad93_
[6] https://envhistnow.com/2023/12/20/we-are-running-out-of-time-to-control-escobars-hippos/
[7] https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/blog/environmental-history-water-hyacinths-in-florida/
[8] https://stjohnsriverkeeper.org/cool_timeline/1884/
[9] https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/04/12/issue.html
[10] https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn87082863/1910-03-31/ed-1/?sp=2&q=hippopotamus+agriculture&st=image&r=0.334,0.056,0.424,0.253,0
[11] https://turtlesurvival.org/species/dahls-toad-headed-turtle/
[12] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2481409-colossal-scientist-now-admits-they-havent-really-made-dire-wolves/
[13] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9864110/
[14] https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001503873
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