Wild Hippos In Columbia? Seriously? #morefon2018 #moreфон2018 #Columbia Day 6 I was greatly surprised when I saw a recent video from the Vox youtube channel that tells a story of a bunch of African hippos that have lived almost freely and have proliferated in Columbia since 1980s. In that time the Colombian narcobaron, Pablo Escobar, had so much cash from cocaine trade, so that he was spending $2,500 a month only to rubber bands to fasten banknotes together. He decided to pour that money into building a private zoo with elephants, giraffes and other big African animals. And also he bought four wild hippos. After the killing of Escobar, the authorities transferred all the large animals to the local zoos, except for the hippos, that were found too difficult and expensive to remove. The hippos seem to be very glad to live in what scientists call "the hippos's paradise". In their new home there are no predators or devastating draughts. The Colombian climate is warm and moist and food is in abundance all year. In these conditions the numbers of hippos began to rise quickly. Their number is soared from 4 to 40 in 2018 and continue growing. Scientists are afraid that the situation can go out of control as the hippos are aggressive and dangerous animals, and can pose a threat to people and indigenous ecosystem. As fo my opinion, I rather welcome the presence of hippos in the land of Columbia. The big mammals, or 'megafauna', lived in America not that long ago, just tens of thousands of years, before having gone extinct. So, maybe returning the survived representatives of that megafauna is not that bad.