Despite being dead for 18 years, the notorious Drug Lord Pablo Escobar’s heritage has brought the Colombian government on its knees.
This time the threat is not from Narcotics though, but from hippos that are on verge of crippling the ecosystem.
Have a look at the picture below–
Those Hippos are in Colombia but they’re not supposed to be there. How did it get here and what does it have to do with Pablo Escobar?
Pablo Escobar at the peak of his time wanted to own a private zoo. So he started importing different kinds of exotic birds and animals from all around the world. However, when his reign was skidding downhill, with him being shot down in 1993, the then Colombian government claimed everything including his wide array of animals.
The Government distributed all those animals except for four Sub-Saharan hippos, which seemingly did not find any buyers (for a very good reason which you’ll know if you continue reading). Clueless, the Government freed those hippos in a nearby swamp.
The end? Absolutely not. We’re just getting started.
You see, despite looking lazy and greasy, hippos are the most ferocious animals on the planet. In fact, more people are killed by hippos than any other animal in Africa. Hell, they even hunt crocodiles.
Today, the number of hippos shot up to 50. These Hippos are used to the droughts in the SubSaharan Africa, and with the lack of swamps in the desert, they barely survived. But Colombia’s tropical climate meant that wetlands were abundant and as a result, they bred among themselves and spread quickly. And once they’re done spending their early life in active sexual activity, they just eat and destroy the ecosystem around them for the rest of their lives.
People tried castrating the male hippos so they could stop proliferating, but that was too much effort (as in they couldn’t grab its balls and they were submerged underwater) and expensive. They put up fences, but they were no match for their strength. And without the absence of any predators like they had in the deserts of Africa, Colombia became a Hippo Heaven.
So naturally as a next step, with all efforts put to waste, the Government ordered to exterminate them all. The military was mobilized and the Hippos were given the kill order until some military personnel made a kill and posted a photo like this—
The picture sparked widespread protest throughout the country. People didn’t like the idea of seemingly ‘charismatic’ and ‘harmless’ hippos being shot at. A federal judge even made it illegal to hunt hippos in the process. And as a result, the Government was forced to wrap up its hippo extermination.
So, as a result, Pablo Escobar’s hippos will grow in numbers and the Government doesn’t know what to do with it.
Hippos 1, Colombian Government 0
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings