Pablo Escobar’s Hippos Causing Carnage in Columbia

Pablo Escobar’s ex-pet Hippos are causing havoc to the Columbian ecosystem after they were deemed to difficult to difficult to transport and where therefore left to roam Columbia’s Magdalena River.

The drug lord, who died in 1993, brought the hippos into Columbia in the 1970s alongside Bison, Ostriches and Goats for entertainment purposes. The hippos were given the nickname ‘cocaine hippos’ purely because they were brought to the country by the major drug lord

There were around 100 hippos released into the wilderness. 80 out of the lot are believed to be spread across 2,250 square kilometres in and around the Magdalena River. The wild hippos are causing havoc to the ecosystem. They cause a much greater amount of toxic algae with their faeces believed to be killing off fish species in the river. They hippos could also become a threat to humans in and around the area.

The problem doesn’t even stop there. With no effective predator in their new ecosystem, the hippos are able to reproduce extremely fast. Meaning the problem can only get worse if they are able to continue in the way they are.