The descendants of Pablo Escobar’s “cocaine hippos” are reportedly multiplying, causing growing concerns among locals about their increasing presence.
According to CNN and Vice, there are currently about 170 hippos roaming northwest Colombia.
Local officials are now working to address issues related to the invasive species, which reportedly have begun attacking people.
As reported by CBS News and Vice, residents who have encountered the animals have been hospitalized.
“They’re very, very dangerous,” one local told FOX News.
Students and parents at a school in Doradal reportedly encountered one of the descendants of “cocaine hippo” when one of the animals appeared in the schoolyard while they were present.
“The mothers get scared when they see an animal of that size,” said teacher Dunia Arango.
According to a local environmental official, David Echeverri, multiple hippos have settled in a lake 20 yards from the school and he worries that the 35 children who play nearby could “provoke a tragedy” by interacting with the animals.
“While they may look very calm, at any moment, given their highly unpredictable behavior, they can attack, as has happened before,” Echeverri added.
Four hippos from Escobar’s private zoo in Hacienda Nápoles were brought to Colombia in the 1980s. After Escobar’s death in 1993, they were abandoned, quickly multiplying, as per Vice and NPR.
Experts warn that without intervention, the hippo population could surge to 1,000 by 2035.
