Colombia's Hippo Dilemma: Kill or Watch

0:00It's April 29, I'm Cory with the story, and this is Canada News today, local news powered by AI. Columbia faces a wild dilemma, with hippos descending from Pablo Escobar's private zoo, back in the 1980s. These massive beasts, now numbering around 200, have spread as an invasive species along the Magdalena River, reproducing fast with no natural predators. The Environment Ministry just greenlit a plan to euthanize about 80 of them starting late this year, to keep the population under 500 by, 2030. Meanwhile, the hippos roam over 43,000 square kilometers, turning river islands into their chill spots and disrupting local life. Fishermen like those in Porto Trianfo, dodge them daily, with some boats even getting flipped during close calls, crippling the fishing trade as folks. Stay away, locals are split hard on this. Tourism operators rave about hippo-watching boats, packing in visitors, bringing cash to riverside spots.

1:01Folks call them Colombian now, born here over, 30 years. But others protest the killings as murder, while scientists push back, warning of ecosystem chaos like in Africa. The control strategy mixes options, corralling them, shipping to zoos abroad, or lethal shots of needed. Their thick skin demands heavy firepower, relocation talks fizzled though. No country stepping up due to costs and import bans. As threats fly at experts and protests brew, Colombia weighs tourism bucks against nature's balance, leaving these Escobar legacies in limbo for now.