In Colombia, they are called "Escobar's hippos" because they are the toxic legacy of the famous drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. The kingpin illegally imported four hippos in the 1980s for the zoo of his ranch, Hacienda Napoles. After his death in 1993, the hippos were abandoned and reproduced on a massive scale, upsetting the ecological balance of the region. Today, the animals are a headache for the authorities and a danger for the local population. Our correspondents report.
