A herd of hippopotamuses descended from pets of deceased Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar are terrorizing a local community.
Four hippos, three female and one male, from a zoo kept by Pablo Escobar have spawned a herd of over 170. The huge creatures are a threat to the local environment and are wreaking havoc amongst the locals. Hippos have attacked fishing communities and invaded a schoolyard. Colombian officials have pledged millions to eradicate the beasts, but little, if anything, has been done. If left unchecked, there will be over one thousand hippos soon.
"The original four hippos, three females and one male, were part of the hundreds of exotic animals at Escobar's private zoo, Hacienda Nápoles, from the 1980s," the publication writes. "After the drug lord's death in 1993, animals from the abandoned estate were donated to other zoos, except the hippos who have since reproduced uncontrollably."
Although there are under 200 hippos at the moment, they are projected to grow to over 1,000 in the next decade if left unchecked.
Susana Muhamad, the current environmental minister of Colombia, tells Vice that the hippos are "a threat to ecosystems" that "risks for the communities that surround them."
RawStory
