Authorities plan to relocate 70 of the hippos living wild in Colombia, but it's not an easy task.
Very carefully, according to David Echeverri López, head of Biodiversity Management, Protected Areas, and Ecosystem Services at Cornare in Colombia.
So, authorities will continue pursuing other options, from sterilization to searching for other zoos and sanctuaries willing to take hippos.
The thickness of a hippo's skin, and the density of their subcutaneous tissue, also makes it challenging to deliver enough anesthesia to keep them asleep for the right amount of time.
Cornare has sterilized 13 hippos, López said, and relocated seven to zoos in Colombia.