Pablo Escobar's hippos to be sent to El Chapo's birthplace in Mexico, 10 to be airlifted
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Colombia is gearing up to send 10 hippos from drug lord Pablo Escobar's former ranch to Mexico. They will be airlifted and brought to Ostok Sanctuary in Sinaloa, a town known for being home to Mexican drug lord Joaquin ''El Chapo'' Guzman.
The South American nation has declared the late cartel leader's hippos an invasive species after they damaged the ecosystem. A plan to ship at least 70 of them to India and Mexico was approved in March 2003.
The giant animals will be taken from Antioquia in Colombia. The $500,000 operation is funded by conservationist Ernesto Zazueta.
Four hippos were brought to Colombia in the late 1980s for Escobar's private zoo of exotic animals. After his death in 1993, the animals were left to roam freely and environmental authorities are now concerned that their population has risen to 150. The foreign species has begun polluting soil and water which has been wiping out native plants. Their faeces are also affecting oxygen levels which lower water quality and cause widespread fish fatalities.
The drug lord's zoo also had elephants, giraffes, and antelopes. The government was able to relocate them. They put off dealing with the hippos because they are too heavy to transport.
60 of these hippos will be coming to India.