# Escobar’s Four Hippos Grow Into Colombia’s Largest Invasive Population 2026-08-06T18:06:11+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Four hippos imported by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar for his Hacienda Nápoles estate in the late 1980s have multiplied to more than 80 in central Colombia, The Times of India reports. After Escobar’s death in 1993, the animals remained because moving them was difficult and costly. They later spread into nearby rivers and wetlands, where warm conditions, plentiful water and a lack of large predators helped them reproduce. A study published in Nature found that waterways occupied by the hippos had changed oxygen levels, nutrient concentrations and water chemistry. Their dung and urine add nitrogen and phosphorus, which can encourage algal growth, lower oxygen and harm fish. Researchers say controlling the population will be costly and technically difficult, while inaction could deepen the ecological damage. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: Colombia, hippos, invasive species, Pablo Escobar, river ecology Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/escobars-four-hippos-grow-into-colombias-largest-invasive-population/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/escobars-four-hippos-grow-into-colombias-largest-invasive-population/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.