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The “cocaine hippos” have become a huge headache for Colombia

Back in 1981, Escobar illegally imported one male and three female hippopotamuses...

Newsroom June 7 06:30

Infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar may be long gone, however he’s still wreaking havoc on his native Colombia thanks to his thriving hippos.

Back in 1981, Escobar illegally imported one male and three female hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius) from a zoo in the US, and moved them onto his private ranch at Hacienda Nápoles.

After his death in 1993, the African animals were left largely to their own devices, breeding and dispersing into the surrounding areas, establishing a healthy population along the Magdalena River.

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Now, a Colombian environment ministry census, conducted with local and US scientists, has revealed there are twice as many of the hefty herbivores as originally expected, with as many as 215 likely.

Read more: New Atlas

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