Hippos Spawned From Drug Lord Pablo Escobar's Ranch Won't Stop Multiplying
HACIENDA NÁPOLES, Colombia—Castrating hippos wasn’t part of Cristina Buitrago’s veterinary training, especially since the natural habitat of the semiaquatic beasts is roughly 7,000 miles away.
But she has gotten a crash course in the procedure now that the Colombian government has declared the African natives an invasive species.
Her six-person team lures the target into a corral with 180 pounds of carrots, bringing it down with enough sedative-filled darts to fell three horses. Rolling the hippo comes next. Ms. Buitrago then extracts the testicles, located under thick folds of skin. The operation can take five hours under the tropical sun and cost up to $17,000 in a country that struggles to finance healthcare for humans.
“It’s dirty. There’s mud everywhere. You’re soaked in sweat,” says Ms. Buitrago, a veterinarian for Cornare, a state-sponsored environmental group. “This is not a practical way to solve the problem.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/hippos-spawned-from-drug-lord-pablo-escobar-s-ranch-won-t-stop-multiplying/ar-AA1aAKv0
