Colombia will try to control its population of more than 100 hippopotamuses, large animals from Africa.

哥伦比亚将试图控制其100多头河马的数量，河马是来自非洲的大型动物。

The South American country aims to control the big animals using several methods.

这个南美国家打算使用多种方法来控制这种大型动物。

Officials might sterilize the animals through a medical operation.

官员们可能会对这些动物做绝育手术。

They might move the hippos to other countries, or possibly euthanize them, the government said recently.

该国政府最近表示，他们可能会把河马转移到其他国家，或者可能对它们实施安乐死。

The animals' ancestors were brought to the country by the late Pablo Escobar in the 1980s.

这些动物的祖先是由已故的巴勃罗·埃斯科瓦尔在20世纪80年代带到这个国家的。

Escobar was the leader of an illegal drug operation in Colombia.

埃斯科瓦尔是哥伦比亚一个非法毒品集团的头目。

The hippos have spread from Escobar's home to nearby rivers where they have reproduced.

河马已经从埃斯科瓦尔的家扩散到附近的河流，并在那里繁殖。

They have no natural predators in Colombia and the government has declared them as an invasive animal that could hurt the environment.

它们在哥伦比亚没有天敌，该国政府已宣布它们是一种可能会破坏环境的入侵动物。

Officials estimate there are 169 hippos in Colombia and that many of them are in the Magdalena River area.

官方估计，哥伦比亚有169头河马，其中许多生活在玛格达莱纳河地区。

They estimate that if no measures are taken, there could be 1,000 by 2035.

他们估计，如果不采取措施，到2035年可能会有1000头河马。

Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said the first step of the plan will be to sterilize 40 hippos each year and this will begin soon.

该国环境部长苏珊娜·穆罕默德表示，该计划的第一步是每年为40头河马绝育，这项工作很快就会开始。

The method is costly.

这种方法成本很高。

Each sterilization costs about $9,800.

每次绝育手术的费用约为9800美元。

And there are risks for the hippos, including reactions to medicines or death, as well as risks to health officials, the ministry said.

该国环境部表示，这对河马来说存在风险，包括药物反应或死亡，卫生官员也会面临风险。

The hippos live across a large area.

河马生活在一大片区域内。

They are territorial and aggressive.

它们有很强的领土意识和侵略性。

Experts say sterilization alone is not enough to control the growth of the invasive animals.

专家表示，仅靠绝育还不足以控制这种入侵动物的生长。

The government announced in March that it is planning to possibly move the animals to other countries.

该国政府在3月份宣布，其计划可能会将这些动物转移到其他国家。

Muhamad said Colombian officials have contacted officials in Mexico, India, and the Philippines, and they are considering a plan to send 60 hippos to India.

穆罕默德表示，哥伦比亚官员已经联系了墨西哥、印度和菲律宾的官员，他们正在考虑向印度运送60头河马的计划。

"We are working on the protocol for the export of the animals," she said.

她说：“我们正在制定河马出口的协议”。

"We are not going to export a single animal if there is no authorization from the environmental authority of the other country."

“如果没有其他国家环保部门的批准，我们是不会出口任何河马的。”

As a last means to control the population, the ministry is creating a protocol to euthanize the animals.

作为控制河马数量的最后手段，该国环境部正在制定一项对河马实施安乐死的协议。

A group of hippos was brought in the 1980s to Hacienda Napoles.

20世纪80年代，一群河马被带到那不勒斯庄园。

The place was Escobar's private zoo.

这个地方是埃斯科瓦尔的私人动物园。

Now it receives many visitors after his death in 1993.

在他1993年去世后，这里接待了许多游客。

Most of the animals live freely in rivers there and reproduce without control.

大多数河马在那里的河中自由生活，不受控制地繁殖。

The people of the nearby Puerto Triunfo have become used to hippos sometimes walking freely around the town.

附近特里恩福港的人们已经习惯了河马有时在镇上自由走动。

However, scientists warn that the hippos' waste pollutes the rivers and could affect the environment where other large animals, like manatees and capybaras, live.

然而，科学家警告称，河马的排泄物会污染河流，并可能会影响其他大型动物（如海牛和水豚）的生活环境。

I'm Gregory Stachel.

格雷戈里·施塔赫尔为您播报。

来源：VOA