Dr. Rebecca Lewison

And the answer is we know almost nothing about hippo communication. Why not? They're communicating in the air like we are, but they're also communicating in the water. And we don't really understand how they're doing it. We can record them. And people have done that. And they describe sort of clicks and other types of noises underwater.

And the answer is we know almost nothing about hippo communication. Why not? They're communicating in the air like we are, but they're also communicating in the water. And we don't really understand how they're doing it. We can record them. And people have done that. And they describe sort of clicks and other types of noises underwater.

Like that, right? It's not a great one. I'm probably not going to call them in. But I think it's these crazy noises. And we really don't know anything about what it means, what they're saying, how they're even communicating in the water.

Like that, right? It's not a great one. I'm probably not going to call them in. But I think it's these crazy noises. And we really don't know anything about what it means, what they're saying, how they're even communicating in the water.

Like that, right? It's not a great one. I'm probably not going to call them in. But I think it's these crazy noises. And we really don't know anything about what it means, what they're saying, how they're even communicating in the water.

I think it's interesting because honestly, it just feels like one of the wonderful mysteries of hippos, but it's also one of the things that's kept them, I think, off the radar and kept them sort of in this area of we see you, but we don't know anything about you. It's just that they're so tough to study.

I think it's interesting because honestly, it just feels like one of the wonderful mysteries of hippos, but it's also one of the things that's kept them, I think, off the radar and kept them sort of in this area of we see you, but we don't know anything about you. It's just that they're so tough to study.

I think it's interesting because honestly, it just feels like one of the wonderful mysteries of hippos, but it's also one of the things that's kept them, I think, off the radar and kept them sort of in this area of we see you, but we don't know anything about you. It's just that they're so tough to study.

Yeah, it's a really crazy, crazy thing. So if you're just new to this, Pablo Escobar, who is a very famous narco trafficker, had four hippos, three females and one male on his ranch and compound. And upon his death in 1993, for some reason, they just left them.

Yeah, it's a really crazy, crazy thing. So if you're just new to this, Pablo Escobar, who is a very famous narco trafficker, had four hippos, three females and one male on his ranch and compound. And upon his death in 1993, for some reason, they just left them.

Yeah, it's a really crazy, crazy thing. So if you're just new to this, Pablo Escobar, who is a very famous narco trafficker, had four hippos, three females and one male on his ranch and compound. And upon his death in 1993, for some reason, they just left them.

Cut to this many years later. And now there's probably around 200 hippos roaming wild in this area of Columbia called the Magdalena River. Turns out it's a great place to be a hippo. Oh, no. So hippos do really well under good conditions. It's one of the reasons why hippos can start having babies like four years earlier in captivity. It's because the conditions are so good.

Cut to this many years later. And now there's probably around 200 hippos roaming wild in this area of Columbia called the Magdalena River. Turns out it's a great place to be a hippo. Oh, no. So hippos do really well under good conditions. It's one of the reasons why hippos can start having babies like four years earlier in captivity. It's because the conditions are so good.

Cut to this many years later. And now there's probably around 200 hippos roaming wild in this area of Columbia called the Magdalena River. Turns out it's a great place to be a hippo. Oh, no. So hippos do really well under good conditions. It's one of the reasons why hippos can start having babies like four years earlier in captivity. It's because the conditions are so good.

So that's what we think happened in Colombia. There's grass everywhere. It's never a dry season. They never lose water availability. There's unlimited food, unlimited resources, and that's why we've seen this population explode. So what do we do now that there are 200 and maybe more hippos in Colombia? It's a really tough problem.

So that's what we think happened in Colombia. There's grass everywhere. It's never a dry season. They never lose water availability. There's unlimited food, unlimited resources, and that's why we've seen this population explode. So what do we do now that there are 200 and maybe more hippos in Colombia? It's a really tough problem.

So that's what we think happened in Colombia. There's grass everywhere. It's never a dry season. They never lose water availability. There's unlimited food, unlimited resources, and that's why we've seen this population explode. So what do we do now that there are 200 and maybe more hippos in Colombia? It's a really tough problem.

There have been some suggestions and solutions that they've tried, but all of them take a lot of money. They've tried darting some with contraception. They've tried castrating some of the males. They have actually culled one individual, so they've shot him. And that may sound terrible to some people, and I'm obviously not

There have been some suggestions and solutions that they've tried, but all of them take a lot of money. They've tried darting some with contraception. They've tried castrating some of the males. They have actually culled one individual, so they've shot him. And that may sound terrible to some people, and I'm obviously not

There have been some suggestions and solutions that they've tried, but all of them take a lot of money. They've tried darting some with contraception. They've tried castrating some of the males. They have actually culled one individual, so they've shot him. And that may sound terrible to some people, and I'm obviously not