Colombia Proposes Shipping Invasive Hippos to India, Mexico

Colombia is proposing to send at least 70 hippopotamuses¹ to India and Mexico as part of a plan to control the hippo population.

The hippos live near the former farm of the crime group leader Pablo Escobar, who died in 1993. He had illegally imported four hippos from Africa in the 1980s. The animals mated and their numbers increased.

The hippos are territorial² in behavior and weigh up to three tons. They have spread far beyond the Hacienda Napoles property, which is about 200 kilometers from Bogota along the Magdalena River. Environmental officials estimate there are about 130 hippos in the area in Antioquia province. The experts said the hippo population there could reach 400 in eight years.

Escobar's Hacienda Napoles and the hippos have become a tourist attraction in the years since Escobar was killed by police.

Scientists warn the hippos do not have a natural predator³ in Colombia. The animals also could be a problem for biodiversity as the waste they produce changes the composition of the rivers. The environmental changes could threaten native animals including manatees⁴ and capybaras. Last year, Colombia's government declared the hippos a harmful invasive species.

The plan to take the animals to India and Mexico has been forming for more than a year, said Lina Marcela de los Ríos Morales, director of animal protection and welfare at Antioquia's environment ministry⁵.

Animal caretakers would use food to trick the hippos into getting into large, iron containers. Then, trucks would transport the animals to the international airport in the city of Rionegro, 150 kilometers away. From there, the hippos would be flown to India and Mexico, where there are animal shelters and zoos to house the animals.

"It is possible to do, we already have experience relocating hippos in zoos nationwide," said David Echeverri López, a spokesman for Cornare, the local environmental agency that would oversee⁶ the operation.

The plan is to send 60 hippos to the Greens Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation⁷ Kingdom in Gujarat, India. De los Ríos Morales said the center would pay for the cost of the containers and airlift. Another 10 hippos would go to zoos and protected areas in Mexico such as the Ostok Sanctuary⁸, in Sinaloa state.

The plan aims to catch the hippos living in the rivers surrounding the Hacienda Napoles property. The ones on the property are not a concern. Officials said those hippos are in a controlled environment and do not threaten the local environment.

Ecuador, the Philippines and Botswana have also expressed their willingness to take the Colombian hippos, the Antioquia Governor's Office says.

Words in This Story

tourist attraction –n. a place of interest to visitors

predator –n. an animal that obtains food mostly by killing⁹ and eating other animals

biodiversity –n. biological variety in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and animals

composition –n. the elements of a substance

species –n. a group of living things of the same kind and with the same name

relocate –v. to move to a new location

1 hippopotamuses   

n.河马（产于非洲）( hippopotamus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hippopotamuses teem in this river. 这条河里有很多河马。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

3 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

4 manatees   

n.海牛（水生哺乳动物，体宽扁，尾圆，有鳃状肢）( manatee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被驯服。 来自互联网
• Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游动温和而缓慢，被认为是海员遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人鱼。 来自互联网

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

8 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。