Colombia putting Pablo Escobar’s hippos on birth control
Published: Oct. 19, 2021 at 9:22 AM CDT
(CNN) – Colombia may have finally found a solution to one of the lesser-known legacies of the notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar: invasive hippos.
A handful of hippos were transferred to Colombia in the 1980s for Escobar’s private zoo, and their population has grown to 80.
Biologists have expressed concern about their environmental impact and the threat to human safety.
The regional environmental agency on Friday announced that at least 24 hippos were treated with a new method: darts loaded with a contraceptive drug to control the population.
Scientists must now track the effectiveness of the drug by measuring hormonal levels in the feces of the hippos.
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