Post #14721

How are Escobar's cocaine behemoths causing an environmental disaster in South America? Invasive species are one of the serious problems of our time. They knock out local animals, change habitats and can even lead to dangerous ecological situations. And there are just tons of them all over the world: rats on small islands, rabbits in Australia, fire ants in North America and hippos in South America. Wait, how did they get on this list? The world-famous multi-billionaire, terrorist and drug lord Pablo Escobar was to blame for the great migration of hippos. He was such a big animal lover that he took and organized a home zoo on the territory of his estate, fortunately the living space allowed. Anyone could look at zebras, rhinoceroses, ostriches and other exotics absolutely free of charge. But the most honorable place in the zoo was given to a pond with 4 hippos. In the 90s of the last century, the drug empire fell, Pablo died in a shootout, and the state appropriated his property. The inhabitants of the domestic menagerie were placed in different zoos, but there was a hitch with the hippos. These guys did not want to voluntarily leave the territory of their native pond. Having compared the colossal costs and the meager benefit, the Colombian government gave up, saying that they themselves will die of hunger, why bother with them? The hippos, however, had other plans. They liked the Colombian climate so much that the animals began to reach reproductive age 5 years earlier, and the abundance of food and the absence of natural enemies only added fuel to the fire of life. In general, our friends began to eat a lot, reproduce intensively, and over 30 years they increased their livestock by more than 10 times! The additional load in the form of heavy African monsters did not please the local ecosystems: reservoirs, abundantly manured by hippopotamuses, begin to bloom vigorously. Fish suffocate and die in blooming water. If there are no fish, those who ate them disappear, and after them, those who eat fish eaters go to get nuts. By the time the public began to notice the animals, their number had approached a hundred individuals, and the rate of personnel replenishment continued to grow. Scientists are trying to sound the alarm and have even organized a program to sterilize animals, but this is of little use. Knocking down and operating on an aggressive territorial animal is not an easy task, and it requires a lot of money. But the public is not eager to allocate budgets. For locals, hippos are a tribute to history and a local landmark, which tourists flock to in droves. According to some estimates, the population could reach 1,500 individuals by 2042, while others say 1,000 by mid-century. Experts agree that action must be taken immediately. However, hunting hippos is prohibited in Colombia. In the meantime, hippos remain a popular tourist attraction, making a political solution to the problem even more difficult. Photo 5 - the cu