Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS

Pablo Escobar’s ‘cocaine hippos’ spark conservation row

Researchers worry Colombian environment ministry will side with animal-rights activists rather than curb the invasive animals’ spread.
  1. Emiliano Rodríguez Mega
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Colombian environment minister Susana Muhamad has triggered fear among researchers that she will protect, rather than reduce, a growing population of invasive hippos that threaten the country’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Although she did not directly mention the hippos — a contentious issue in Colombia — Muhamad said during a speech in late January that her ministry would create policies that prioritize animal well-being, including the creation of a new division of animal protection.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 615, 382-383 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00606-z

References

  1. Castelblanco-Martínez, D. N. et al. Biol. Conserv. 253, 108923 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Shurin, J. B. et al. Ecology 101, e02991 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Echeverri, A. et al. Nature Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-01983-4 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links