2026年4月13日 美国东部时间下午3:01 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
哥伦比亚官员周一批准了一项计划，将捕杀在该国中部地区自由游荡的数十只河马。多年前，臭名昭著的毒枭巴勃罗·埃斯科巴引入了首批河马，如今这些河马已威胁到村民，并排挤本土物种。
环境部长艾琳·贝莱斯表示，此前控制所谓“可卡因河马”种群的方法既昂贵又无效，包括为部分河马做绝育或将它们转移到动物园。贝莱斯称，该措施将影响多达80只河马。她未透露捕杀行动何时开始。
“如果我们不采取行动，就无法控制种群数量，”贝莱斯说，“我们必须采取这一行动来保护我们的生态系统。”
哥伦比亚是非洲以外唯一一个拥有野生河马种群的国家。这些河马是20世纪80年代埃斯科巴引入的四只河马的后代，当时他在马格达莱纳河谷的宏伟庄园那不勒斯庄园建立了一座私人动物园，该庄园配有私人跑道，是他的乡间住所。
哥伦比亚国立大学发表的一项研究估计，2022年该国约有170只河马自由游荡。
哥伦比亚已将河马列为入侵物种，专家表示仅靠绝育不足以控制河马的数量增长，因此该国政府此前曾考虑将河马转移到海外保护区。但将河马遣返的成本也很高——估计需要350万美元。
最近，人们在距离该庄园以北60多英里的地区发现了河马。
哥伦比亚环境当局表示，这种哺乳动物对村民构成威胁，村民曾在农场和河流中遭遇它们。它们还会与海牛等本土物种争夺食物和生存空间。
在哥伦比亚生活多年的独立记者奥黛丽·休斯此前告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，由于河马自由游荡，它们会捕杀鱼类，并威胁到海牛、水獭和海龟等本土特有物种。
“它们在这里没有像在非洲那样的天敌，所以种群数量激增，影响了当地生态系统，”休斯说，“由于它们体型庞大，会消耗大量草地，并产生大量粪便，进而污染河流。”
2021年2月4日资料图：河马在那不勒斯庄园公园的湖中漂浮。该庄园曾是毒枭巴勃罗·埃斯科巴的私人宅邸，数十年前他在此引入了三只雌性河马和一只雄性河马。摄于哥伦比亚波多黎各特里温福。费尔南多·贝加拉 / 美联社
尽管面临诸多挑战，河马也已成为一处旅游景点，那不勒斯庄园周边村庄的居民提供河马观赏之旅，并销售河马主题纪念品。
河马也是那不勒斯庄园的主要景点之一，该庄园被哥伦比亚政府没收后，现已成为主题公园，设有游泳池、水滑梯和一个包含多种其他非洲物种的动物园。
去年10月，哥伦比亚总统古斯塔沃·佩特罗宣布，该国将把埃斯科巴庄园的一部分土地移交给在该国武装冲突中受害的女性。
哥伦比亚的动物福利活动家长期以来反对捕杀河马的提议，认为它们有权存活。他们表示，通过暴力解决这一问题，会给这个经历了数十年内部冲突的国家树立一个糟糕的榜样。
参议员、动物权利活动家安德烈娅·帕迪拉曾协助起草哥伦比亚禁止斗牛的法律，她将捕杀河马的计划描述为一项“残忍”的决定，并指责政府官员试图走捷径。
“杀戮和大屠杀永远都不可接受，”帕迪拉在X平台上写道，“这些健康的生物是政府部门疏忽的受害者。”
在过去12年里，历经三届政府，哥伦比亚曾尝试为部分河马做绝育以减少种群数量。但由于捕捉这种危险动物并为其实施手术的成本高昂，这些举措的实施范围有限。
由于哥伦比亚的河马基因库有限，且可能携带疾病，将它们送回非洲自然栖息地的想法被认为不可行。
2026年4月13日，哥伦比亚环境部长艾琳·贝莱斯在哥伦比亚波哥大举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话，内容涉及哥伦比亚政府将采取的遏制国内河马繁殖的措施。路易莎·冈萨雷斯 / 路透社
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/decades-after-pablo-escobar-brought-hippos-to-colombia-country-now-dealing-with-dozens-of-them/
巴勃罗·埃斯科巴引入河马数十年后，哥伦比亚如今正应对数十只河马带来的问题
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Colombia to euthanize dozens of “cocaine hippos” linked to drug lord Pablo Escobar in bid to control population
April 13, 2026 3:01 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Colombian officials on Monday authorized a plan to cull dozens of hippos roaming freely through a region in the center of the country, where they threaten villagers and displace native species years after notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar brought in the first ones.
Environment Minister Irene Vélez said previous methods to control the population of the so-called “cocaine hippos” have been expensive and unsuccessful, including neutering some of the animals or moving them to zoos. Vélez said up to 80 hippos would be affected by the measure. She did not say when hunting would begin.
“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.”
Colombia is the only country outside of Africa with a wild hippo population. The hippos are the descendants of four brought to the country in the 1980s by Escobar as he built a private zoo in Hacienda Nápoles, a gigantic ranch in the Magdalena River valley with a private landing strip that served as his rural abode.
A study published by Colombia’s National University estimated that around 170 hippos were roaming freely in the country in 2022.
Colombia has declared them an invasive species and experts have said sterilization alone is not enough to control the growth of the animals, which is why the government previously arranged for the possible transfer of hippos to overseas sanctuaries. But the cost of deporting the hippos is also expensive — an estimated $3.5 million.
Recently, hippos have been spotted in areas that are more than 60 miles north of the ranch.
Environmental authorities in Colombia say the mammals pose a threat to villagers who have encountered them in farms and rivers. They also compete for food and space against local species such as river manatees.
Independent journalist Audrey Huse, who has lived in Colombia for years, previously told CBS News that because the hippos roam freely, they end up killing fish and threatening endemic species like manatees, otters and turtles.
“Because they have no natural predators here, as they would in Africa, the population is booming an it’s affecting the local ecosystem,” Huse said. “Because they are such large animals, they consume considerable amounts of grassland and produce significant waste, which then poisons the rivers.”
In this file photo from Feb. 4, 2021, hippos float in the lake at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago, in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia. Fernando Vergara / AP
Despite the challenges, the hippos have also become a tourist attraction, with residents of villages surrounding Hacienda Nápoles offering hippo spotting tours and selling hippo-themed souvenirs.
The hippos are also one of the main attractions at the Nápoles ranch, which was confiscated by Colombia’s government as it seized Escobar’s properties. It now functions as a theme park, featuring swimming spools, water slides and a zoo that includes several other African species.
Last October, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the country handed over a chunk of Escobar’s ranch to women caught up in the nation’s armed conflict.
Animal welfare activists in Colombia have long opposed proposals to kill the hippos, arguing they deserve to live. They say that addressing the problem through violence sets a poor example for a country that has gone through decades of internal conflict.
Andrea Padilla, a senator and animal rights activist who helped draft a law against bullfights in Colombia, described the plan to cull the hippos as a “cruel” decision, and accused government officials of trying to take the easy way out.
“Killings and massacres will never be acceptable,” Padilla wrote on X. “These are healthy creatures who are victims of the negligence” of government entities.
Over the past 12 years, spanning three presidential administrations, Colombia has tried to neuter some of the hippos in a bid to reduce their population. But the initiatives have had limited scope due to high costs that come with capturing the dangerous animals and performing surgeries on them.
Because Colombia’s hippos come from a limited gene pool and could carry diseases, taking them back to their natural habitat in Africa has been considered unfeasible.
Colombian Environment Minister Irene Velez speaks during a press conference about the measures the Colombian government will take to curb the reproduction of hippos in the country, in Bogota, Colombia, April 13, 2026. Luisa Gonzalez / REUTERS
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/decades-after-pablo-escobar-brought-hippos-to-colombia-country-now-dealing-with-dozens-of-them/
Decades after Pablo Escobar brought hippos to Colombia, country now dealing with dozens of them
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