Pablo Escobar's Cocaine Hippos

11/23/2025

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
During the 1980s, drug kingpin Pablo Escobar smuggled 4 hippopotamuses into his estate Hacienda Napoles. He was killed in 1993, and the animals were abandoned.

Pablo Escobar riding a pet African elephant

Escobar was one of the founders of the Medellin Cartel, which by the 1980s had become so powerful that it controlled 80% of the global cocaine trafficking and 75% of its market to the United States.

Escobar purchased his 7.7 mile estate Hacienda Napoles in 1978. He constructed a Spanish-style colonial mansion, an airport, several swimming pools, man-made lakes and a sculpture garden. And let's not forget a zoo for exotic animals.

Escobar was shot and killed by Colombian police on December 2, 1993. His widow Maria, his son Pablo and daughter Manuela fled Colombia in 1995 after failing to find a country that would grant them asylum. First they went to Mozambique, then Brazil and they settled in Argentina using false names.

After Escobar's death, the ranch, zoo and citadel at Hacienda Nápoles were given by the government to low-income families under a law called Extinción de Dominio (Domain Extinction).

In 2006, the estate was declared the property of the Colombian state. Its value was estimated at $2.23 million. By the 2010s, a private company began operating the Parque Temático Hacienda Nápoles. It's a theme park with water attractions, a wildlife sanctuary, and museums. Thousands of tourists come from all over the world, and the hippos are one of the main attractions.

There is no denying that Escobar's connection to the park is a drawing point. Between the years it was abandoned and its reclamation as a tourist attraction, the hilltop ruins was ransacked by treasure seekers. Holes were dug in the floors in search of a stash of cash, and one over-the-top individual even showed up with backhoe. Despite the passages of time, people are still caught sneaking into the grounds hoping to dig up and find any of Pablo's money.

The ‘cocaine hippos’ are considered an invasive species

Escobar's plans were to build up an exotic zoo of wild animals, however after his death many of the animals died, and those that survived were moved to zoos around the country, but the hippos were considered too large and difficult to move.

The 5,500-acre ranch located in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo, 124 miles north of Bogotá, and the surrounding wetlands, provided an environment in which the hippos thrived. Their descendants started showing up about 10 years ago.

The hippos invaded extensive areas of the Magdalena River basin in Colombia, and without any natural predators and the warm weather, they have done what all species do: reproduce. They have been found miles from Puerto Triunfo.

In 2007, complaints were made when crops were damaged, and a male called Pepe who attacked fishermen and killed six pigs was shot by a German hunter brought in by the Colombian government. The original four hippos brought by Escobar had multiplied to 16. Several animal rights groups protested the action, and the hunt for hippos was suspended. In 2012, a court prohibited it.

The original entrance to Hacienda Nápoles, a replica of his Piper PA-18 Super Cub airplane. This was the small plane that had transported his very first shipment of cocaine to the United States — a decision that clearly led to the wealth and prestige he enjoyed

By 2014, it was estimated the herd numbered about 40 hippos, and in 2019 they numbered about 100, and their range covers about 870 sq. miles. It's been found the Colombia hippos reach sexual maturity earlier than African hippos.

In late 2021, the Colombian government authorized for 24 hippos to be chemically sterilized, and there were discussions of culling the herd. However the communities at Puerto Triunfo welcome the presence of the hippos. They "have become a part of the local identity".

In response to this action a US Federal Court recognized the descendants of Escobar's hippos as legal persons. The ruling was in response to an application filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) to Colombia's proposed cull of the herd. The plaintiffs were the "Community of Hippopotamuses Living in the Magdalena River."

In 2014, an Argentine court ruled Sandra the orangutan had been subject to unjust confinement at Buenos Aires Zoo. In 2019, she was settled in the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida.

Biologist warned the hippos can damage the biodiversity in the rivers, as well as negatively affecting crops as they are herbivores which eat large amounts of food. They are aggressive, and are known to kill people.

The hippos were shot with darts to inject them with a medicine called GonaCon which is a contraceptive for males and females

In June, 2023 ten of Pablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" were flown to El Chapo's homeland province of Sinoloa, Mexico. Their destination was the Ostok Sanctuary in the town of Jesus Maria in northwest Mexico. The goal was ultimately to return them to Africa in their natural habitat. Mexican conservationist Ernesto Zazueta footed the $500,000 bill. The youngest were selected in order to slow the birth rate within the herd.

The ten hippos are only a fraction of the ones that are now running wild in Antioquia, Colombia. It's believed that by 2031, the hippos will number over 400.

Research has found one of the main problems of the hippo population is their feces which acts like a fertilizer. Bacteria and algae found in nearby lakes and rivers boom and cause algal blooms and create a lack of oxygen in the water for other organisms. There are concerns they could harbor diseases and parasites that will endanger other species including humans. There is also the threat presented by the hippos' aggressive nature.

Two of the original hippos were procured by Escobar from the San Diego Zoo, and two others were gifted by fellow drug lords, the Ochoa brothers. It's estimated that to transport one hippo costs about $40,000 or more. This herd of hippos are the only wild ones that can be found outside of Africa.

Sixty more hippos were being sent to the Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom in Gujarat.

In 2024, Colombian courts gave the go-ahead to sterilize and hunt the hippos.

Plans to relocate them to Mexico, India or the Philippines, with a price tag of about $3.5 million stalled out.

In May 2025, it was reported that violence from organized crime in Sinaloa forced Ostok Sanctuary to close. The transfer of about 700 animals, including the hippos was undertaken. The new sanctuary is known as Bioparque El Encanto located about 130 miles away.

There were safety concerns for the staff, and veterinarians were not willing to make the trip to Culiacan due to the violence between the cartels.

A mystery that persists is what happened to Escobar's $30 billion fortune. What has surface over 30 years have been properties, but not his liquid fortune. His family deny any known of its location.

Unable to launder that vast amount of money that came to him, it's rumored he started to hide it in rural area, agricultural fields and other location.

In 2016, a mansion owned by Escobar in Miami was searched by it new owner. Experts with metal detectors tore down most of the walls and found two safes. One disappeared and the contents remained unknown, the other did not have anything of value.

In 2020, Pablo Escobar's nephew Nicolas Escobar found a stash of his uncle's money in one of his houses in Medellin. It totaled about $18 million, but the dollars were unusable since they been buried for over 30 years and were too decayed.

Phillip Witcomb also known as Roberto Sendoya Escobar claims he is Escobar's secret son. He claims his adoptive father stayed in contact with Pablo Escobar, who he supposedly met during a stay in Colombia during the 1960s. Witcomb claims his biological father sent him a series of codes that would lead to his treasure in Colombia, however he's been unable to prove either claim.

His adoptive father Patrick Witcomb, a former British secret service agent, disclosed the truth to him in 1989.