At the peak of his cocain - smuggling career , Colombia ’s most ill-famed drug lord Pablo Escobar built a wholesale land in the area ’s rolling hills for his cartel friends and family , unadulterated with a full functional zoo fill withillegally transportedexotic animals . After his death in 1993 , one specie was left to its own gadget and has since thrived in the pixilated Amazonian rain forest . Now , the hippo has been dubbed the “ world ’s large invasive beast ” and researchers at the University of California San Diego ( UCSD ) are evaluating the environmental impact of these massive subaquatic mammalian .
For the last two years , Jonathan Shurin , a UCSD biological science professor , has been working with Colombian scientists , veterinarians , fishermen , and students under a project funded by theNational Geographic Societyto monitor water chemistry , study microbiome samples , and record the soundscape to paint a holistic characterisation of how hippos are touch on their environment across all spectrums .
Because they are unsafe , territorial , and weigh several gross ton , Escobar ’s four hippos – three female person and one male person – were let informal rather than delight to nearby zoo . It ’s expected that one female give nativity to a new calfevery twelvemonth , ensue in an annual population growth of about6 percentthat now lay Colombia ’s hippo universe at up to60 fauna . The monolithic herbivore are endemic to the river and swamps inAfrica , where their numbers are limited by seasonal drouth . However , Colombia ’s blistering , humid , and class - round blind drunk climate , paired with no natural predators , has allowed their population to boom .
The team found that the big animals are leaving an equally large step – literally . Because of their large size of it , the hippos change wetland structures simply by walk through it . They are also “ ecosystem engineers ” that eat supergrass on farming and poop in the water , moving nutrients from one ecosystem to the other . While their nincompoop acts as a fertiliser , too much of it can be toxic andsuffocate piss systems , while a change in urine chemistry can further threaten those that live in aquatic environs .
“ It was not bear that the hippopotamus would be integrated into the aquatic ecosystems of Colombia so successfully , ” life scientist and Colombian native Aranguren - Riaño said in astatement . “ The risk to native mintage such as manatees , turtles , and fish is gamey and the environmental effect is unpredictable . It is a big problem because they have migrate to the Magdalena River and could spread to other strategic part of Colombia . ”
Hippos help to manage grasslands by eating flora , which gives scientists a windowpane into ecosystems10,000 to 20,000 geezerhood agowhen other whale , like mastodons and mammoths , roamed savannas and grassland that later turned to forests after they conk out off .
The researchers take note that Colombians and tourist often misunderstand hippos as gentle giants , which they certainly are not , and it could posefuture human - creature conflicts .
Then again , hippo population in Africa have drop to vulnerable status , and others argue that any rebound in routine – even on a different continent – could be a good affair .
[ H / T : National GeographicandUCSD ]
