Escobar’s Hacienda Napoles — and the hippos — have change into a kind of native vacationer attraction within the years for the reason that kingpin was killed by police in 1993. When his ranch was deserted, the hippos survived and reproduced in native rivers and favorable weather conditions.

Scientists warn the hippos do not need a pure predator in Colombia and are a possible downside for biodiversity since their feces change the composition of the rivers and will impression the habitat of manatees and capybaras. Final 12 months, Colombia’s authorities declared them a poisonous invasive species.

The plan to take them to India and Mexico has been forming for greater than a 12 months, mentioned Lina Marcela de los Ríos Morales, director of animal safety and welfare at Antioquia’s surroundings ministry.

The hippos could be lured with meals into massive, iron containers and transferred by truck to the worldwide airport within the metropolis of Rionegro, 150 kilometers away. From there, they’d be flown to India and Mexico, the place there are sanctuaries and zoos able to taking in and caring for the animals.

“It’s attainable to do, we have already got expertise relocating hippos in zoos nationwide,” mentioned David Echeverri López, a spokesman for Cornare, the native environmental authority that might be in control of the relocations.

The plan is to ship 60 hippos to the Greens Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Kingdom in Gujarat, India, which De los Ríos Morales mentioned would cowl the price of the containers and airlift. One other 10 hippos would go to zoos and sanctuaries in Mexico such because the Ostok, situated in Sinaloa.

“We work with Ernesto Zazueta, who’s the president of sanctuaries and zoos in Mexico, who’s the one who liaisons with completely different nations and handle their rescues,” mentioned the official.

The plan is to deal with the hippos residing within the rivers surrounding the Hacienda Napoles ranch, not those contained in the ranch as a result of they’re in a managed surroundings and don’t threaten the native ecosystem.

The relocations would assist management the hippo inhabitants, and although the animals’ native habitat is Africa, it’s extra humane than the alternate proposal of exterminating them as an invasive species, mentioned De los Ríos Morales.

Ecuador, the Philippines and Botswana have additionally expressed their willingness to relocated Colombian hippos to their nations, in keeping with the Antioquia Governor’s Workplace.