Colombian authorities rescue a baby hippopotamus found alone along a riverbank in the Puerto Nare area of Antioquia, northwestern Colombia. Local environmental officials say fishermen spotted the calf separated from its mother and hidden among bushes, and reported it after noticing signs of malnutrition. The hippo is part of Colombia’s population of roughly 200 invasive hippos living in the wild, which the Environment Ministry says descend from an original herd brought to South America by the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Multiple outlets note that the hippos spread from that Escobar-era introduction and now persist in Colombian waterways and nearby habitats. Officials attribute the invasive population to the descendants of Escobar’s animals rather than a new introduction. The reports emphasize the circumstances of the discovery—alone, malnourished, and located near fishermen on the riverbank—along with the broader background of the invasive “cocaine hippos” in Colombia traced to Escobar’s herd.
Baby hippo linked to Escobar stock rescued in Colombia’s Antioquia
Colombian authorities rescue a baby hippopotamus found alone along a riverbank in the Puerto Nare area of Antioquia, northwestern Colombia. Local environmental officials say fishermen spotted the calf...
- Authorities in Antioquia rescue a baby hippopotamus found alone near a riverbank.
- Fishermen locate the calf separated from its mother and hidden in bushes.
- The calf shows signs of malnutrition.
- Colombia has about 200 invasive hippos living in the wild.
- The hippos descend from a colony brought to South America by Pablo Escobar.
Around 200 hippos live in the wild, stemming from a colony brought to South America by the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.
2 hours agoBOGOTA, Colombia — Authorities in northwestern Colombia said they rescued a baby hippopotamus found alone by fishermen on the banks of a river and showing signs of malnutrition. Colombia has around 200 invasive hippos living in the wild, according to the Environment Ministry, all of which descended from a colony brought to South America by slain cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Fishermen found the small hippo separated from its mother and hidden in the bushes along the riverbank in a rural area of the Puerto Nare municipality in Antioquia, said Javier Valencia, director of the regional environmental authority, in a statement on […]...Keep on reading: Baby hippo descended from Escobar's herd rescued in Colombia
3 hours agoColombia has around 200 so-called "cocaine hippos" living in the wild, all of which descended from a colony brought to South America by slain cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.
8 hours ago
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