The Colombian government has begun to sterilize Pablo Escobar's hippos, which many experts consider a serious threat to biodiversity.

The former king of drug trafficking had illegally imported into the country, in the 1980s, a couple of these pachyderms for his private zoo set up in his vast estate-fortress, the Hacienda Na 'poles, in Doradal, in the Antioquia department: the animals they have reproduced in recent years until reaching a population of over 80 specimens. Too many, according to the authorities, given their devastating impact on local flora and fauna.

So far 24 have been sterilized.

The animals live in the wild on about three thousand hectares.

Scientists believe that these animals can destroy the local ecosystem by driving away native species that are already endangered, such as the manatee, but also by altering the chemical composition of the waterways, which could thus endanger fishing.

In addition to the two hippos, at the time nicknamed the "hippos of cocaine", Escobar had imported other exotic animals such as rhinos, elephants and giraffes for his zoo.

When he was killed in 1993, many of these were relocated or died, but the hippos were also abandoned due to the high costs and logistical problems associated with their transport.

Various attempts by the government to control their population have failed and earlier this year a researcher warned that, in the absence of drastic measures, their number would rise to 1,500 by 2035.

Faced with this alarm cry, many had asked for the killing of hippos but the authorities opted for their sterilization.

(Unioneonline / F)