History | Animals | Wildlife
Cocaine Hippos Are Taking Over Colombia’s Rivers
Not a joke.
The Magdalena River has a strange problem.
It is Colombia’s largest river, pumping water into the heart of its thick jungles. Big channels turn into smaller channels and eventually flow into the Caribbean Sea.
If you sailed down its blue and muddy waters — just as Christopher Columbus did — you’d see all levels of seaborn commerce: massive freight ships from distant lands to tiny family fishing boats carting food to restaurants.
If you sailed further down these mostly-calm waters, you’d arrive at a peculiar junction in nature.
And if you arrived at the wrong moment, you’d see male hippos jousting for dominance and mating rights.
These are the only wild hippos outside of Africa. They’re also the largest invasive species on the planet.
It’s the latest in a series of odd ecological problems in Colombia — and there’s disagreement on how to deal with it.
