Another Peek at Pablo Escobar's Luxurious Life in New Documentary 'The Hunt for Escobar's Hippos'

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Aug 27, 2020 05:08 AM EDT

Pablo Escobar is one of the most notorious drug kingpins across the world. He was also famous for his way of life, which can seem luxurious.

Viewers can see more of the effect of Escobar's ruling with a new documentary entitles "The Hunt for Escobar's Hippos."

The documentary premieres on Aug. 26 and is available to watch on FuboTV and Hulu +Live.

Escobar's Hippos

Hippos kill hundreds of people each year in Africa. Since they have been brought to South America, they have caused destruction.

In Colombia, these hippos reportedly invade towns at night. Hippos did not always live on that part of the world.

Escobar decided to fill the zoo in his hideaway in 1980s. The luxurious playboy ranch Hacienda Napoles was filled with exotic animals. He then illegally imported wildlife, which includes kangaroos, zebras, and four hippos.

These four hippos were said to be his favorite and most prized animal in the said ranch. Escobar was responsible for these animals until he was killed in 1993 in a rooftop gunfight.

The Colombian government seized his ranch where the majority of his animals either died or were transported to zoos.

The only exception to these was his hippos. When he died Pablo Escobar left behind a legacy of drugs and his hippopotamuses.

These might just be an interesting story to some. But experts and studies suggest that these hippos have a huge impact on the ecosystem.

Colombia and Escobar's Hippos

When the government seized his animals, the hippos was too large and hard to handle, even compared to elephants and rhinos.

As a result, these hippos, one male and three females, stayed in a lake in the middle of the drug kingpin's palace.

In 2007, there were 16 hippos recorded. These hippos started to wander away from Escobar's former zoo. Younger hippos, it seemed, wanted to set up their own herds away from the older and larger males.

Today, ecologists estimated that around 65 to 80 hippos are roaming in the area. Some around the old hacienda, others have been spotted up to 250 kilometers away.

In Africa, hippos become sexually active between the ages of seven and nine for males, while females start between ages nine and 11.

However, Escobar's hippos are becoming sexually active as young as three. Reports said that all fertile females are giving birth to a calf every year.

"At night, the animals roam the countryside, wandering into ranches, eating crops, and occasionally crushing small cows," BBC's William Kremer said in a report.

Kremer added that the local children sometimes bring hippo calves home with them.

Hippopotamus is considered to be one of the deadliest animals in Africa. But so far, hippos have not killed or injured anyone in Colombia.

University of California San Diego biologist Jonathan Shurin and his colleagues said that if you plot out their population growth, the data shows that it tends to be exponentially skyward.

Shurin noted that in the next couple of decades, there could be thousands of them.