Seventy hippos will be transferred from Antioquia to Mexico and India. The first 10 mammals will be taken to the Ostock Sanctuary in Mexico, one of the largest reserves in the world; while the other 60 will be taken to India, through air transport to facilitate their transfer, because by sea it would be very long and complicated.
As explained by the governor of Antioquia, Aníbal Gaviria, “Each crates can have a cost of 10 thousand dollars and if we multiply it by 70 it is a significant number. The interesting thing is that this is done by air transport to facilitate the transfer, because by sea it would be very long and in large planes”.
The Government of Antioquia, Cornare, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and other institutions, including the Colombian Air Force, signed an agreement to seal the transfer of this species in two months.
“Now the only thing that we are missing is, let’s call this colloquially ‘The passport’ of the hippos, which is a document that must be issued by the Ministry of the Environment, it is the flag for the other processes that will allow us to carry the hippos in two months”, Aníbal Gaviria pointed out.
In addition, Aníbal Gaviria revealed that 5 other countries, including Ecuador, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, have expressed their interest in receiving some hippos that continue to reproduce in Magdalena Medio, Antioquia. This transfer of hippos is a sample of the collaboration between countries to preserve the fauna and flora of the world.