Pablo Escobar «cocaine hippo» dies after being hit by a car

• A Pablo Escobar «cocaine hippo» is killed.
• He smuggled four hippos into Colombia in the ’80s.
• Now there are as many as 150 hippos in the country.

Pablo Escobar «cocaine hippo» dies. Notorious drug trafficker Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria is a man that Colombia has been trying to forget for the last 30 years, since he was one of the most notorious criminals of all time.

Escobar founded the world famous Medellin drug cartel in the 1980s and was once believed to be one of the richest men in the world. His crimes are also remembered, because he carried out hundreds of kidnappings, bombings and assassinations.

Pablo Escobar «cocaine hippo» dies

Now, one of the ‘descendants’ of the famous capo was struck and killed in the middle of the highway. It was a famed «cocaine hippo”. Pablo Escobar originally smuggled four hippos into Colombia for his private zoo in the ’80s.

The incident occurred on Tuesday in Colombia when the poor animal was hit by a car on the highway near the late drug lord’s huge estate. Initial reports indicate that the driver failed to see the animal when he was driving at night.

«Cocaine hippo» hit by a car

According to TMZ, the accident occurred Tuesday night on a highway near Medellín. The driver was traveling at night and collided with the huge beast, killing it. The Hippopotamus was left lying on the road until the authorities arrived at the scene of the accident.

Pablo’s property has become a tourist area which has a zoo inside. It’s believed the animal escaped before being run over. The driver was unharmed.

Hippos were introduced into Colombia by Pablo Escobar

It was not an easy task to remove the dead animal from the road because it was so enormous. The famous kingpin smuggled four hippos into the country a long time ago, which is why they became known as the “cocaine hippos”.

The original hippos brought in by the drug trafficker (one male and three females) have since died, but their many children and grandchildren live on. Apparently there are now about 150 hippos in and around that area, all courtesy of Pablo Escobar.

How did they get to Colombia?

The so-called «cocaine hippos» are directly related to the assassination of Pablo Escobar by Colombian security forces in 1993. After his death, his private zoo was dismantled and turned into one of the most popular theme parks in Colombia years later, according to Cauca Extremo.

“Logistically it was difficult to move them, so the authorities just left them there, probably thinking the animals would die. It is the largest herd of hippos outside of Africa, which is its native region,” a renowned veterinarian told the media.