Pablo Escobar’s Hippos Are Still Terrorizing A Small Colombian Town

When Pablo Escobar died, he left a host of problems — and I’m not just talking about the dudes in Miami who have perforated septums thanks to his product.

Among the many issues caused by Escobar were the animals in his personal zoo. See, Escobar, being an insanely wealthy drug kingpin, wasn’t content with merely a white picket fence. Instead, he opted to have a personal zoo filled with all sorts of animals: zebras, giraffes, kangaroos, rhinoceroses and more.

After he passed, many of these animals either died or were transferred to actual zoos. However, his hippopotamuses escaped — and now, they’re wreaking havoc on the country of Colombia.

According to the New York Times, “Officials estimate that about 170 hippos, descended from Mr. Escobar’s original herd, now roam Colombia, and the population could grow to 1,000 by 2035, posing a serious threat to the country’s ecosystem.”

While the country has plans to sterilize, euthanize or transfer some of these hippos to other areas, the sheer amount of hippos is causing major issues for cities and towns across the country. Plus, they have no natural predators, meaning that if a hippo comes to your town, it’s likely going to stay there for a long time.

Also, if you think that you can solve this problem by simply going on a hippo hunt, you’re wrong. There was outcry after a group killed a single hippo, and in general, the Colombian public isn’t really a fan of shooting perfectly healthy hippos, even if they’re being dicks.

For the time being, Colombians will have to be content with the government’s planned sterilization program, which costs about $10,000 per hippo. That, or they’ll have to learn to love the giant beasts that are taking hold of their towns. Still better than the cartel!