Colombia has approved a funded plan to control the free-ranging hippos descended from four animals Pablo Escobar brought to Hacienda Nápoles in the 1980s. Euthanasia is one measure in that plan—not a court-imposed “death sentence.” The latest cited official estimate is more than 200 hippos, and the Ministry of Environment says the population could reach 500 by 2030 and nearly 1,000 by 2035 without control measures.
What happened to Pablo Escobar’s hippos?
On 13 April 2026, Colombia’s Ministry of Environment announced a 7.2 billion Colombian peso plan to reduce the hippo population and control its spread. It includes a technical euthanasia protocol alongside other management measures. The Ministry said the first phase would prioritize animals identified in high-complexity areas across four regions. The announcement does not establish that euthanasia had begun.
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The hippos descend from four animals Escobar brought to his Hacienda Nápoles estate in the 1980s. After they escaped or were left to roam, they established a free-ranging population in Colombia. The Ministry declared them an invasive exotic species in 2022. The government’s stated concern is that the growing population could affect ecosystems and nearby communities.
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The Ministry’s April 2026 announcement describes the plan and its funding: Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. Its population figures are official estimates and projections, not a new independent census.
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How many hippos are in Colombia?
The Ministry estimated there were more than 200 hippos in its 13 April 2026 announcement. It projected that, without control measures, the population could reach 500 by 2030 and nearly 1,000 by 2035.
A 2024 Ministry account gave a lower estimate of 169 and also cited a projection of 1,000 by 2035 without decisive control. The figures refer to different dates and estimation bases; they should not be treated as competing counts taken at the same time. The 2026 figure is the more recent official estimate.
The Associated Press reported on 13 April 2026 that up to 80 hippos could be affected by the announced target. That is a reported potential target, not a statement that 80 animals had already been euthanized.
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Did a court sentence the hippos to death?
No. The April 2026 court action was not a criminal judgment against the animals. On 25 April, the Ministry said the Bogotá Third Administrative Court rejected eight tutela petitions challenging government management measures. According to the Ministry’s summary, the court found the control measure had legal, technical and scientific support, considered nonlethal alternatives insufficient to stop the population’s expansion, and urged prompt implementation.
The Ministry’s account is a summary of the outcome, not the full court ruling. Separately, the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca’s official summary describes a case concerning collective rights to a healthy environment and ecological balance, including measures such as regulating eradication tools, coordinating capture and relocation, strengthening containment and surgical facilities, and expanding capacity at Hacienda Nápoles park.
Why is Colombia considering euthanasia?
The Ministry says control is needed because the population is expanding and could affect ecosystems and communities. Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres said the government regarded translocation and euthanasia as the two ways to reduce the population, and described euthanasia as a technical measure to use when translocation is not possible. The Ministry says the protocol was developed as part of an evidence-based management strategy for environmental authorities working with scientific institutes.
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The protocol allows chemical or physical euthanasia. The Associated Press reported that operational approaches described in the protocol include lethal injection after an animal is lured and immobilized, or shooting with a high-powered rifle. That description is AP’s reporting, rather than a direct quotation from the protocol.
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Colombia’s management framework includes translocation, surgical sterilization, confinement and euthanasia as a last resort, subject to animal-welfare standards. Each approach has different implications for how quickly it can affect population growth or spread; feasibility, cost, welfare and legal requirements also matter. The published accounts do not provide a quantified, directly comparable cost-effectiveness analysis for every option.
Translocation
Moving hippos could remove animals from Colombia’s free-ranging population, but requires a receiving country and a workable legal, technical and budget route. The Ministry said discussions with Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, India, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and South Africa had not produced an effective transfer route. It said India had been contacted on 9 April 2026 and a response was pending.
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Sterilization and confinement
Surgical sterilization can prevent treated animals from reproducing, but does not itself remove them from the environment. Confinement is another listed management measure. The Ministry’s 2024 account includes both options in the adopted plan, but the cited announcements do not establish that either could, by itself, stop the population’s expansion at the required scale.
Euthanasia
Euthanasia directly removes animals from the population, but raises serious animal-welfare concerns and is politically contested. The plan identifies it as a last resort within a broader strategy; the Ministry’s 2026 protocol covers chemical and physical methods.
Why is the plan controversial?
The dispute brings together ecological concerns, animal welfare and local economic interests. Supporters of control emphasize potential impacts on ecosystems and community safety as the population spreads. Critics object to killing the animals and argue for transfers or other nonlethal approaches. Colombian Senator Andrea Padilla called the reported target “an extermination” and “a massacre of 80 individuals,” as quoted by AP; that is a political criticism, not a neutral description of the plan.
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There is also a local tourism stake. AP has reported hippo-watching outings and locally sold souvenirs around Puerto Triunfo, including a business owner’s concern about tourism. The available reporting does not quantify the economic consequences of the control plan.
Has Colombia started euthanizing the hippos?
The cited Ministry announcements establish that the plan was funded and announced, and that the court rejected the eight petitions. They do not establish whether euthanasia actions had started by 4 October 2026. The court’s reported call for prompt implementation is not confirmation that field operations took place.
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