Cocaine Hippos 🇨🇴🦛 #hipposincolombia #cocainehippos #colombia #hippo #hippopotamus

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]It is clear that common hippos do not belong in Colombia and are actually classified as an invasive species, but just how did they get there? In the early 1980s, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar adopted four hippos from a wildlife breeding center in Dallas, Texas. These hippos are known as the cocaine hippos. In 1981, the four hippos, which included three females and one male, were imported to Pablo Escobar's private zoo [music] in Hacienda Napoles, Colombia.

[00:00:29]After Pablo Escobar's death in 1993, the zoo was unofficially closed. [music] However, the hippos later escaped the zoo and they quickly spread to other surrounding areas. By 2007, the hippos had multiplied to 16 individuals and they had spread to the nearby Magdalena River. Today, there are approximately 170 hippos living in Colombia and it is estimated that their population could reach 1,000 individuals by 2035. Because they are classed as an invasive species, the hippos have a negative effect on various ecosystems.

[00:01:04]They feed heavily on certain plants and therefore their presence is affecting various native species such as the West Indian manatee, the neotropical otter, and the critically endangered Magdalena River turtle.

[00:01:17]There are many species of turtle and fish that are largely restricted to the Magdalena River Basin. Most conservationists are in opposition to keeping the hippos in Colombia. However, there are some ecologists that suggest that they should stay and that they might even have a positive impact on the environment. Hippos have no natural predators in Colombia, so that means that their population can grow even faster.

[00:01:42]On April 13th, 2026, the Colombian Ministry of Environment approved [music] the euthanasia of more than 80 hippos.

[00:01:51]When I heard this news, I was completely devastated. These hippos were imported from the United States in the '80s and they are simply just existing.

[00:02:02]And people think it's okay to euthanize them. It's just completely inhumane. However, things could be looking up because just a few days ago Indian billionaire Anant Ambani offered transportation and shelter for the hippos to be transported to his massive wildlife sanctuary in India called Vantara.

[00:02:24]I am really hoping that the Colombian Ministry of Environment accepts his offer because to me this is the only humane way to deal with this issue. The common hippo problem in Colombia is yet again due to the selfish acts of humans.

[00:02:37]It is not the hippos' fault.