Colombia approves a cull of up to 80 hippos

Colombia's environment minister, Irene Velez Torres, approved a cull of wild hippos. She said up to 80 will be killed. The estimated population is about 200. The animals are descended from hippos brought to the country by drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s.

A cull is a planned killing of animals to reduce a population. Hippos are large African mammals that are not native to Colombia. An estimated population of about 200 means officials are working from an approximate count, not a full census published with the decision. Up to 80 is the maximum number the minister said would be killed, so the cull is dozens of animals and not the entire herd.

Pablo Escobar was the Colombian drug trafficker who imported the original hippos in the 1980s. Those animals escaped control and bred in the rivers of the region. Their descendants are now wild. The minister cited the need to protect local villagers and native species as the reason for the cull.

Native species are the plants and animals that belong to an ecosystem without having been introduced by people. A large introduced herbivore can damage riverbanks and compete with local wildlife, and hippos can kill people who come too close. The report does not describe the method of the cull. It also does not name the rivers or give a start date.

Environment ministries decide how to handle invasive or introduced animals when relocation, sterilization, or confinement are judged insufficient. This decision chooses killing for part of the herd. About 200 remain the working population estimate, and up to 80 is the cap on the cull. The rest of the animals are not covered by the killing figure the minister announced.

Irene Velez Torres has authorized the death of up to 80 hippos out of about 200. The herd traces to animals Escobar brought to Colombia in the 1980s. The stated purpose is protection of villagers and native species. The approval was reported on April 13.