Four hippos. That’s what Pablo Escobar imported to his private zoo in the 1980s, alongside zebras and giraffes, to decorate Hacienda Nápoles, his sprawling ranch in Colombia’s Magdalena River valley. Four hippos — and now the Colombian government has authorized the killing of up to 80 of their descendants because nobody could stop them from taking over.

Environment Minister Irene Vélez announced the cull on Monday, calling it a last resort after a decade of expensive and largely unsuccessful attempts at population control. Colombia has tried neutering the animals. It has tried relocating them to zoos. It has explored deporting them to overseas sanctuaries at an estimated cost of $3.5 million. None of it made a dent.

“If we don’t do this we will not be able to control the population,” Vélez said. “We have to take this action to preserve our ecosystems.”

A 2022 study by Colombia’s National University estimated that about 170 hippos were roaming freely across the country — the only wild hippo population outside Africa. They have been spotted more than 100 kilometers north of Hacienda Nápoles, showing up on farms and in rivers where they threaten villagers and outcompete native species including river manatees, otters, and turtles. With no natural predators in South America, the population keeps growing.

Returning the hippos to Africa is unfeasible — a limited gene pool and potential disease risk make it a non-starter.

Hacienda Nápoles was confiscated after Escobar’s death and converted into a theme park complete with water slides. It now sells hippo-spotting tours. Nearby villages peddle hippo-themed souvenirs. The invasive species threatening Colombia’s rivers is also a local industry.

Animal rights activists have condemned the cull. Senator Andrea Padilla, who helped draft Colombia’s anti-bullfighting law, called the decision “cruel” and accused the government of taking the easy way out. “Killings and massacres will never be acceptable,” she wrote on X. “These are healthy creatures who are victims of the negligence” of government entities.

The hippos don’t know they’re Escobar’s legacy. They’re just doing what large, hungry mammals do in territory without predators. The cost of four decades of inaction will be measured in carcasses.

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