By Staff writer
Moving 70 hippos belonging to Pablo Escobar is set to cost Colombia around R62 million.
Ten of the “cocaine hippos” will be sent to Mexico with the remaining 60 to be sent to India in the coming months.
What is making the operation expensive is luring the hippos out of their current sanctuary. The current plan is to bait the hippos out and put them into special crates to transport them across the globe, Insider reported.
It is not an easy task and not cheap either.
The animals would need to be professionally anaesthetised.
“Everything with hippos is risky, as well as complex, costly, and time-consuming,” said David Echeverri López, who works for Cornare, the Colombia government agency handling the hippo relocation.
A total of 130 hippos live at the former ranch of Escobar, a drug kingpin who was shot dead in 1993.
His hippos remained at the residence after being illegally imported by Escobar.
The group of hippos have since massively reproduced, with some predicting there will be thousands of them in the area in the next decade.
Last year Colombia declared the animals, which are referred to as “cocaine hippos” because of Escobar’s role in the cocaine trade, as an invasive species that could displace some native animals.
This is why they are attempting to ship the hippos off as the country is still plagued by Escobar’s legacy.
Pictured above: A group of hippos
