The late Medellin Cartel leader Pablo Escobar’s hippos are causing a mammoth problem in Columbia by defecating and over-fertilizing a local lake. Escobar imported four hippos for his exotic 3,953-acre zoo—which also has ostriches, giraffes, and elephants—but due to unchecked mating and a lack of natural predators, the population has exploded to between 60 and 80 and is forecast to hit 150 by 2030. Most of the semi-aquatic beasts live in Hacienda Napoles lake and they often wander ashore at nightfall. African hippo populations die off in their natural habitat due to droughts and predators, but have been thriving in lush Colombia.
Read it at Daily News
