I've been to Hacienda Napoles (Pablo's estate where the hippos - and zebras, and rhinos and pretend dinosaurs with fake roaring speakers are). There are hotels you can stay in there ( I did not - I stayed in Doradal the nearby city with schools and hospitals built by Escobar). But if you stay in the park you must be in your hotel by 6pm say signs posted everywhere - because the hippos are nocturnal. They stay in the water all day and come out and ...roam and potentially kill at night. I stood for an hour with my toes in the water watching the hippos swim and I fed Vanessa - that is Pablo's pet pigmy hippo who is 'tame'. You buy (for about $1) a tupperware of carrots and celery and feed her. She let me scratch her nose. All of this is to say, Colombians on the ground where the hippos are spreading from have worked out ways to coexist with them.
Why scientists want to kill Pablo Escobar's hippos
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Re: Why scientists want to kill Pablo Escobar's hippos
#12As a Colombian I think the symbolism alone of getting rid of the hippos is valuable. Of course there are other factors to weigh, but to me, I see Pablo Escobar as no different from a figure like Osama Bin Laden. He was a terrorist who went to war with the country. He blew up planes and airplanes full of in innocent people.
It would be a big negative to me if he got to have a legacy of permanently altering the ecosystem.
Re: Why scientists want to kill Pablo Escobar's hippos
#13TIL Hippos have predators in their natural habitats. I found that very surprising; I would imagine the beasts would have to be either very young, old or already quite ailing.
Healthy adult hippos can fight off most predators, so they are largely immune from predation in their natural habitat. There are lots of videos on YouTube of them injuring or killing lions and large crocodiles, although a pride of lions might get lucky on occassion. However, baby and juvenille hippos and old sick hippos are vulnerable.
>> However, baby and juvenille hippos and old sick hippos are vulnerable.
Isn’t this true for all apex predators though?
Re: Why scientists want to kill Pablo Escobar's hippos
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Healthy adult hippos can fight off most predators, so they are largely immune from predation in their natural habitat. There are lots of videos on YouTube of them injuring or killing lions and large crocodiles, although a pride of lions might get lucky on occassion. However, baby and juvenille hippos and old sick hippos are vulnerable.
>> However, baby and juvenille hippos and old sick hippos are vulnerable. Isn’t this true for all apex predators though?
Hippos are herbivores, no? I get that they are extremely murderous, but apex predators are carnivores that eat other predators, iirc.