Hippopotamuses belonging to Pablo Escobar have escaped a private prison and attacked local residents.
The megaherbivores spread from the kingpin’s private zoon into nearby rivers after arriving in Colombia illegally in the 1980s.
Hippos, which have no natural predators in the South American country, were declared an invasive species which threatens the ecosystem.
Hacienda Nápoles became a tourist attraction after his death in 1993.
Hippos descending from those brought over by Pablo Escobar in the 1980s
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Bogota’s Ministry of Environment was forced to intervene by sterilising a number of hippos in November.
A resident told Fox News: “They're very, very dangerous. The hippos have started to attack people.”
Other locals warned the animals were “unpredictable” and “aggressive”.
People have decided to hide if they stumble across roaming hippos.
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Pablo Escobar (right) brought hippos to Columbia
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Colombia’s Environmental Minister Susana Muhamad issued a warning about the severity of the situation.
Speaking to The New York Times, Muhamad said: “We are in a race against time in terms of permanent environmental and ecosystem impacts.”
Colombia plans to sterilise 40 hippos a year, transfer some to other countries and possibly euthanise others.
Muhammad said: “We are working on the protocol for the export of the animals.
A mural of Pablo Escobar is seen in the streets at Pablo Escobar neighborhood during 30th anniversary of the late Colombian drug trafficker
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“We are not going to export a single animal if there is no authorization from the environmental authority of the other country.”
David Echeverry López, chief of the environment office in charge of the plan, claimed sterilising the species is difficult.
He argued that “they have an oversupply of food, so baiting them to capture them becomes even more complicated”.
Each sterilization also costs around $9,800 (£7,816) and entails a number of risks.
An estimated 169 hippos roam freely in some rivers in Colombia, particularly around the Magdalena River basin.
Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad looks on during a press conference
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It has been warned that the number could soar to 1,000 by 2035 if no measures are taken.
Escobar, who died in 1993 at the age of 44, set up his own zoo at Hacienda Napoles using his fortune from the transnational drug trafficking organisation.
He purchased a collection of 1,900 exotic and wild animals from a zoo in Dallas for $2million (£1.6million).
“You have to buy a hippopotamus because Noah's Ark is wobbling,” Pablo Escobar said.
“Call Miami and ask them to send me a female on a plane now.”
