The Expensive Transfer of Pablo Escobar's 'Cocaine Hippos'

The Colombian government is set to spend $3.5 million to transfer around 70 of Pablo Escobar's invasive "cocaine hippos" to sanctuaries in Mexico and India. The hippos, descendants of four animals smuggled into the country in the 1980s, have no natural predators and have spread beyond Escobar's property. Despite the high cost, officials want to send the hippos out in a humane way rather than killing them. The hippos were declared an invasive species in 2022 and their large amount of urine and feces could pollute rivers and threaten native wildlife.