After the late cocaine kingpin smuggled in four hippopotamuses into his luxury estate, Pablo Escobar’s so-called ‘cocaine hippos’ have been poisoning wildlife with toxic urine and faeces and reproducing at an alarming rate. The 4-000 pound beasts were smuggled in the 1980s from a US zoo and do not actually carry cocaine. But due to having no natural predators and abundant water sources, the hippos became an invasive species.
The population exploded to 80, with researchers fearing that by 2039 this number will explode up to 1,400. Their faeces fuel algae blooming in waterways, reducing oxygen for native fish. There is however a tourist attraction generated by the hippos, making population control tricky. Castration and sterilisation are rather difficult, with only one hippo being castrated a year. Culling them might be the only option, but due to the public’s adoration of the animals, it might also prove difficult.
#MaltaDaily
Photo Source: BBC