Escaped Hippos Causing Chaos In Colombia

Pablo Escobar started his criminal "career" selling contraband cigarettes and fake lottery tickets. He went from there to stealing cars and kidnaping innocent people. At the age of 27, he married a 15-year-old girl and had two children with her. He eventually became a Colombian drug lord who supplied about 80 percent of all the cocaine that entered the United States. He even had the nerve to smile for a mugshot photo. He was shot dead by the Colombian National police in 1993, a day after his 44th birthday, following a years-long game of cat and mouse. After the death of Pablo Escobar, his property was distributed to low income families, in accordance with Colombian law. 

At one time, Escobar was the wealthiest criminal in history, and one of the ten richest men in the world. Despite his bad boy personality, he was also responsible for the building of hospitals, schools, and churches in western Colombia. That must have been around the time he bought the hippos.

Pablo Escobar was an eccentric, complex man. During his peak, he purchased four live hippos from a zoo in California, and took them home to his estate (which he had built himself) in Doradal, Colombia. He must have wondered what he would put in that gigantic pool he had created.

The hippopotamus is a huge, swimming mammal with a life span of up to about 40 years. Hippos are found mostly in Africa, but also at zoos throughout the world. The name "hippopotamus" is derived from an ancient Greek word that means River Horse. Male adult hippos weigh, on average, about 3,300 pounds. Hippos have been known to attack humans, but none of Pablo Escobar's hippos have attacked anyone yet. The closest living relatives to the hippo are whales and porpoises. Hippos are popular zoo animals who breed well in captivity. In addition, zoo surroundings are improving for hippos. They used to be kept in concrete enclosures. Now (for instance), the Toledo Zoo Hippoquarium features a 360,000-gallon tank.

Now, 23 years after the death of Pablo Escobar, these four hippos have grown into 35 hippos. They are said to be the largest wild hippo herd outside of Africa. But the sheer size of the herd, and the fact that they are displaced, poses a serious ecological threat. Even in death, Pablo causes problems for the rest of us.

"If they get aggressive, they pose a risk to Colombian biodiversity. They could displace native fauna." says David Echeverri Lopez, a biologist from the regional environmental corporation. "It is an invasive species, and very resistant to everything," he says. The current plan is to build barriers of rocks and trees to prevent the hippos from wandering too far. Also, four of the males have had vasectomies.

Yes, but who is paying for all this?

As it happens, the annual budget of the local environmental agency is funded by loot seized from local drug gangs. Colombia must be a very rich country, thanks, in part, to Pablo Escobar.

Even in death, Pablo takes care of his own.