Drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar continues to affect Colombian life 25 years after his death.
A male hippo half-submerged in a pond opens its large mouth, displaying its thick canine tusks. Not far from him are a few of his cousins cooling their enormous barrel-shaped bodies in the water.
You might think this is a scene in sub-Saharan Africa, but it’s not. This is a daily spectacle at a Colombian theme park, which used to be an estate owned by Pablo Escobar, the most powerful and wealthiest drug kingpin in history.
Escobar is long dead, but his influence is still felt in Colombia in more than a few ways. Not the least of which is the growing presence of these burly semi-aquatic beasts that he smuggled into his country in the 1980s.
Drug lord rolling in money
At the peak of its drug smuggling operations, the Medellín cartel, which Escobar headed, supplied 80% of the world’s cocaine. With this virtual monopoly on the global drug trade, this son of a poor farmer had amassed a mind-blowing amount of wealth, putting him in the upper echelons of the world’s richest—alongside monarchs and business titans.
Being the biggest drug smuggler ever, it comes as no surprise that Escobar was also the most feared. He eliminated judges, politicians, journalists and cops who went against him. All told, he was responsible for the deaths of up to 7,000 people.
In spite of the many crimes he committed, Escobar is beloved by many Colombians. The reason? He was a Robin Hood figure who did a lot to help the destitute. He generously funded social programs and bankrolled housing projects that benefitted thousands of poor people in western Colombia. Thus, to many of his countrymen, he was El Patron.
Escobar had tons of money to burn—quite literally. Many years after the drug lord’s death, his son, Juan Pablo Escobar, revealed to a Colombian magazine that at one point while their family stayed in a Medellín mountainside hideout, his father set fire to bundles of crisp U.S. banknotes amounting to $2 million to keep the family warm.
By the early 1990s, the “King of Cocaine” was reportedly worth $25-30 billion. Escobar owned extravagant villas and luxury cars. His grown-up toys included airplanes, helicopters, boats, and at least two submarines.
Among the most celebrated properties owned by this extremely rich drug trafficker was the Hacienda Nápoles, which is situated in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo in Antioquia, Colombia. Inside this once luxurious estate was Escobar’s private zoo, which he populated with rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and other exotic animals, including four hippopotamuses—one male and three females.
Escobar’s luck ran out in 1993—25 years ago today—when he was killed in a rooftop shootout with law enforcers in Medellín. With the drug kingpin dead, the government took possession of Hacienda Nápoles.
Many of animals in the estate were moved to other zoos. The hippopotamuses, which were difficult to capture and transport on account of their feral nature and immense size, remained in the estate and were left to fend for themselves.
Relics of a cocaine empire
The once ritzy property, which also contained a colonial house, a sculpture park and a private bullring, had been untended and neglected for many years following the drug lord’s demise. In 2014, A rebirth of the place came about when a private company turned the hacienda into a theme park featuring a water park and a guided safari tour, among other things. Among the biggest attractions in the theme park are its resident hippos.
From the original four hippos that Escobar smuggled into Colombia, these swamp-dwelling herbivores have since multiplied, and some of them have wandered off the estate and into neighboring lakes and rivers.
The hippos have thrived in the Colombian countryside, thanks to its lush tropical landscape and the absence of rival beasts they had to compete with in Africa, the continent where they came from.
Hippos roaming wild
Numerous hippopotamuses have been seen roaming in villages outside Hacienda Nápoles, and they have already made some damage to farms.
Needless to say, the growing hippo population outside captivity may pose danger to townsfolk. Although there have been no reported injuries or deaths caused by hippos, this scenario may not be all that remote.
The hippopotamus is one of the most ferocious animals in the world. On land, this corpulent mammal can charge at humans at 19 mph. In water, this 4,000-pound beast is incredibly agile. With its powerful jaw and dagger-sharp canine tusks, a hippo can snap a canoe in half.
In Africa, more people had been killed by hippos more than any other wild animals—not barring lions and sharks.
Aware of this possible danger to its people, the Colombian government has been pondering for quite some time on how to control the hippo population, or at least minimize the hazards to townsfolk.
An environmental nonprofit organization has put the hippo’s current count at 50-70. If their population is not managed, the hippo’s population in Colombia is expected to more than double in the next decade.
State measures
With the hippo situation becoming increasingly problematic, the Colombian government have taken steps to control the population of these massive mammals and make sure that they will do no harm to people. These measures, however, are fraught with considerable challenges.
The government have castrated some of these animals in an effort to control their population. However, this procedure on an enormous wild animal is all too costly for the government and very risky for veterinarians. For this reason, not much headway has been made using this option.
Colombia’s environmental agency has mulled the building of a wildlife reserve with fences that hippos cannot breach. This idea, brilliant as it is, will not be easy to implement. For one, rounding up all the hippos running wild in the countryside would be an arduous undertaking. For another, creating such a reserve will entail a sizable expenditure on the part of the government.
Many say that the best way to address the hippo situation is to relocate these four-legged swamp-dwellers, but this solution will be difficult to carry out because there is probably no other place in Colombia where these animals can be transferred and not cause any risks to local residents. Besides, moving a hippo is a tall order in itself considering the animal’s enormous weight.
Colombia’s hippo predicament
The hippos in Antioquia have drawn both notoriety and sympathy from Colombians—much like Pablo Escobar in his time. Outside Colombia, it was mostly sympathy for these under-water sleepers.
Owing to the hippos’ popularity, it seems that whatever the Colombian government decides to do to solve this problem will be met with criticism.
So far, there has been no reports of any harm done by a hippo on a Colombian. Because of this, ecologists argue that relocating the hippos is not necessary.
Wildlife conservationists contend that the presence of hippos outside Africa is actually a good thing, pointing out that hippos are currently considered vulnerable to extinction.
According to the African Wildlife Foundation, the hippos’ population has gone down considerably since the start of the new millennium. The hippos are being slaughtered in Africa for their ivory tusks, as well as their meat and fat.
Escobar’s legend continues
Oddly enough, it seems that Pablo Escobar’s story did not end with the drug lord’s demise many years ago. He continues to cause problems for the state—this time through his hippos.
It remains to be seen what solution the government will come up with that will have popular support from Colombians. Meanwhile, local and foreign tourists continue to pour in to catch a glimpse of these fascinating animals, as well as to retrace the extraordinary saga of the most powerful outlaw who ever lived.
