Offspring of Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' fatally struck by SUV in Colombia, officials say

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read
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Offspring of one of Pablo Escobar's famed "cocaine hippos" illegally brought to Colombia by the late drug kingpin is dead after being hit by an SUV along a highway near his former ranch, officials say.

The fatal collision took place Tuesday night along a highway that runs from Bogota to Medellin, environmental authorities said.

No one in the SUV was hurt, local officials said. The hippo died immediately afterward and was removed to be analyzed.

The crash reflected the additional danger that hippos, which weigh as much as 2 tons, can pose to motorists. Aníbal Gaviria, the governor of the Colombian province of Antioquia, pushed for national politicians to transport the animals out of the country in wake of the collision.

“This is one of the dangers that the presence of this species represents. Many of them cross the highway where many vehicles pass, it is also a danger to people,” said David Echeverri López, a biologist at Cornare, the local environmental authority. “Hippos are unpredictable, at any moment they can attack a person."

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Hippos became a tourist attraction

Escobar's ranch and "cocaine hippos" have become a tourist attractions in the years since the kingpin was killed by police in December 1993. When his ranch was abandoned, the hippos survived and reproduced in local rivers and favorable climatic conditions.

Environmental authorities estimate there are some 130 hippos in the area in Antioquia province and their population could reach 400 in within the next decade.

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A dangerous animal

Hippos are territorial, weigh up to three tons, and are one of the most aggressive animals on Earth, according to National Geographic. They can snap a canoe in half with their powerful jaws, and BBC has previously reported they kill about 500 people in Africa each year.

The herbivore mammals do not have a natural predator and scientists say they are a potential problem for biodiversity since their feces change the composition of the rivers. They also say and could impact the habitat of animals there like manatees.

The raucous territorial calls of the hippopotamus create an eerie imprint on Kenya's lakes, wild rivers, and wetlands. Groups of five to 30 congregate near water and stay cool during the day; they disperse on land to graze by night. Hippos may appear to have a tame and endearing smile, but the herbivore is notoriously aggressive. Kenyan wildlife officials estimate there are around 900 hippos in the country.

Plans to relocate the mammals

Last month Colombia revamped plans to move about 70 hippopotamuses that live near Escobar's former ranch to two other countries as part of a plan to control their booming population.

The idea, officials said, is transport them to Mexico and India. Ecuador, the Philippines and Botswana have also expressed interest in relocating the hippos to their countries, the Antioquia Governor’s Office said.

Plans to move the animals out have been forming for more than a year, said Lina Marcela de los Ríos Morales, director of animal protection and welfare at Antioquia’s environment ministry. The plan is to focus on the hippos living in rivers surrounding the ranch, not those inside the ranch because they are in a controlled environment there.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Cocaine hippo' killed by vehicle along road near Pablo Escobar's home