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Russia Leads International Push to Relocate Escobar’s “Cocaine Hippos”
(MENAFN) An international initiative coordinated by Russia is reportedly seeking to prevent the culling of the descendants of Pablo Escobar’s so-called “cocaine hippos” in Colombia, according to statements from animal welfare officials.
The effort is being led by the Global Union of Zoological Institutions, whose head Svetlana Akulova described the initiative as an “unprecedented international campaign” aimed at relocating the animals rather than euthanizing them.
The hippos originally trace back to four animals imported from Africa by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar during the 1980s for his private estate zoo. After his death in 1993, the animals were abandoned, escaped into the wild, and gradually formed a self-sustaining population.
Colombian authorities say the population has now expanded to nearly 200 animals and could exceed 1,000 within the next decade. Officials argue that the hippos are damaging river ecosystems, destabilizing riverbanks, and increasingly coming into conflict with local communities and fishing activity.
Environment Minister Irene Vélez has defended plans to control the population, including euthanasia, as necessary to protect fragile ecosystems.
Animal welfare groups and political figures have criticized the proposal. Senator Andrea Padilla called the idea “cruel,” stating that “massacres will never be acceptable.”
The Global Union of Zoological Institutions has urged Colombian authorities to suspend euthanasia plans and instead relocate the animals to accredited sanctuaries and zoological facilities.
The Indian wildlife rescue center Vantara has also reportedly joined the initiative, offering to house the animals in a specially designed sanctuary.
Colombian officials have previously argued that large-scale relocation is not feasible, intensifying the dispute between conservation approaches focused on population control and those advocating for animal relocation and protection.
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