In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar brought Cocaine Hippos from Africa into Colombia illegally. There were only a few, but now the population has risen to 130 and is predicted to be 400 in eight years if they don't act now to control their population. This is due because they don’t have any natural predators in Columbia. There are no other species in Columbia that can control the hippos’ population. Hippos are also considered one of the most dangerous animals on Earth, being the cause of people’s death, more than lions, hyenas, and crocodiles combined in Africa.
Eventually, after many years the Columbian government declared the Cocaine Hippos as an exotic invasive species. They plan to figure out how to keep the hippopotamuses' population down, but nothing has been settled for the final plan. One of the reasons for this is that the people of Columbia consider the hippos to be theirs. It’s not Africans anymore, it’s Columbians. They don’t want the government to kill or sterilize the animals.
I think that they do need to find a way to control these hippo's population in Columbia significantly since it will disrupt the biodiversity. Nothing stops them from growing their population, but they are another predator being added to this environment. Hence, other species become at risk of extinction since their population is being cut down faster than it is supposed to. Along with that, their natural predator won’t have the same chances anymore in getting their food, decreasing their population too. The addition of the Cocaine Hippos is a huge problem for biodiversity, showing how much harm invasive species can be.
CBS Interactive. (2022, February 22). Colombia plans to declare Pablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" an invasive species. many locals worry the plan could harm the animals. CBS News., from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colombia-cocaine-hippos-pablo-escobars-invasive-species/
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