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Colombian officials on Monday authorized a plan to euthanize dozens of free-range hippos that have invaded the country\u2019s center and threatened villagers since they were first brought in by drug lord Pablo Escobar<\/a>.<\/p>\n Up to 80 hippos will be affected by the plan, which is a last-ditch effort to control the animal\u2019s population after unsuccessful and expensive methods<\/a>, such as neutering, have failed, according to Environment Minister Irene V\u00e9lez.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we don\u2019t do this, we will not be able to control the population,\u201d V\u00e9lez said. \u201cWe have to take this action to preserve our ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n The program, with a budget equivalent to $1.98 million, will include population control measures such as confinement and relocation.<\/p>\n The scores of wild hippos are descendants of four imported into the country by Escobar in the 1980s for his private zoo, Hacienda N\u00e1poles, in the Magdalena River valley. The mammals have since roamed about 60 miles north of the drug kingpin\u2019s ranch.<\/p>\n