Coutesy of [Flickr user Art G.](

Coutesy of Flickr user Art G..

Pablo Escobar is long gone, but his legacy lives on. No, I’m not talking about the illicit drug trade. I’m talking about his pet hippopotamuses.

In the 1980’s, the infamous head of the Medellín Cartel imported four of the creatures (three females and one male) to Colombia for his private zoo near the town of Puerto Triunfo. The Colombian government eventually confiscated the property, but declined to relocate the hippos. Now there are more than 60, and a prolonged drought is causing the animals to encroach on the town.

According to the BBC:

They’ve been seen grazing in fields with cattle and wandering through the town near the city of Medellin. Local children have been warned to keep away from the animals.

Previous attempts to cull the animals have lead to a public backlash from locals who have become fond of the hippos. However, the government maintains that the animals are dangerous, and are in the process of obtaining “specialist dart guns to sedate the hippos” so that they can be sterilized.

(Source: BBC, H/T: Gawker)