Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar bought 4 hippos from California zoo in the early 1980s
They were known as his cocaine hippos because of the kingpin s love of buying exotic animals with his ill-gotten gains
In the years after his death in 1993 four escaped the compound
But decades later they are 100-strong herd that rampage his former village
Their toxic urine and faeces are killing wildlife, say eco-experts
They are now the largest invasive species in the world with largest, wild hippo population outside of Africa
By 2040 numbers could rise to 1,500, making their environmental impact irreversible and their numbers impossible to control, a new study has claimed
Hippopotamuses brought to Colombia as part of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar s private zoo at his ranch have bred so successfully that there is serious concern over their environmental impact and human safety, according to a new study by researchers at Mexican and Colombian universities.