In 2020, a hippo chased down and severely injured a farmer, which prompted research into the hippos’ population growth. There have been attacks on humans, but as of 2017 nobody has been killed by the Colombian hippos. Hippopotamuses can represent a serious threat to fishers and other locals. Others have argued that the Colombian hippos should be regarded as a safe population, isolated from the threats faced by African hippos, and that they could be beneficial to the local ecotourism industry. Alternatively, the introduced hippos could be a form of Pleistocene rewilding project, replacing species like Toxodon that became extinct in prehistoric times, but Pleistocene rewilding itself is highly controversial. It has been suggested that the nutrients they introduce to the water and the occasional fish kills caused by them are overall positive, but this was based on a study in their native Africa. In contrast to the opposition by most conservationists, some ecologists have argued that they should remain and might even have a positive effect on the local environment. Despite the limited magnitude of the observed change, it was noticeable since the species' population was still quite small. Cyanobacteria can cause toxic algae blooms and die-offs of aquatic fauna. In 2020, a study showed that there was an increase in the nutrient levels and cyanobacteria in Colombian lakes inhabited by hippos. The critically endangered Dahl's toad-headed turtle and Magdalena River turtle are largely restricted to the Magdalena River basin, as are many threatened fish. Conservation concerns īeing non-native introductions, most conservationists considered them problematic and invasive in Colombia, as they have the potential to change the ecosystems, feeding heavily on plants and displacing native species like the West Indian manatee, Neotropical otter, spectacled caiman and turtles. The Colombian hippos reach sexual maturity earlier than African hippos. Population projections estimate that there could be thousands within a few decades.
The estimated population in December 2019 was around 90–120, with their range covering around 2,250 km 2 (870 sq mi) and now extending into Santander it is expected that the population will almost certainly increase to more than 150 individuals within a decade and could reach up to more than 200 hippos, while the range eventually could cover more than 13,500 km 2 (5,200 sq mi). In early 2014, there were reported to be 40 hippopotamuses in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia. They were deemed too difficult to seize and move after Escobar's death, and hence left on the untended estate.īy 2007, the animals had multiplied to 16 and had taken to roaming the area for food in the nearby Magdalena River. In the late 1970s, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar kept four hippopotamuses in a private menagerie at his residence in Hacienda Nápoles, 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of Medellín, Colombia.
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