{"id":108680,"date":"2021-01-18T00:59:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T00:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=108680"},"modified":"2021-01-18T00:59:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T00:59:21","slug":"pablo-escobars-cocaine-hippos-are-breeding-like-mad-and-out-of-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/pablo-escobars-cocaine-hippos-are-breeding-like-mad-and-out-of-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Pablo Escobar’s ‘cocaine hippos’ are ‘breeding like mad and out of control’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar, is leaving a mark nobody could predict almost 30 years after his death. <\/p>\n

His "cocaine hippos", which were illegally imported into Colombia in the late 1980s, are breeding like mad and becoming a menace, scientists have warned.<\/p>\n

Escobar was shot dead in 1993 and the Colombian government took control of his extravagant estate, including his personal zoo, writes The Telegraph.<\/p>\n

Most of the animals were shipped away, but four hippos escaped after being left to fend for themselves in a pond. <\/p>\n

Now there are dozens of them living in the wild, and although nobody knows exactly how many, estimates put the total number between 80 and 100.<\/p>\n

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If estimates are true, it'd make them the largest invasive species on the planet.<\/p>\n

Scientists predict the number of hippos will increase to almost 1,500 by 2040 – just 20 years away.<\/p>\n

They believe if they reach that point, the environmental impacts will be irreversible and their numbers will be impossible to control.<\/p>\n

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