The drug kingpin brought four hippos to his estate in the 1980s. Officials estimate that about 170 now roam Colombia, and say the population must be controlled to protect the country’s ecosystem.

When the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, most of the animals he had imported as pets — zebras, giraffes, kangaroos and rhinoceroses — died or were transferred to zoos.

But not his four hippopotamuses. They thrived. Perhaps a little too well.

Officials estimate that about 170 hippos, descended from Mr. Escobar’s original herd, now roam Colombia, and the population could grow to 1,000 by 2035, posing a serious threat to the country’s ecosystem.

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    When the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, most of the animals he had imported as pets — zebras, giraffes, kangaroos and rhinoceroses — died or were transferred to zoos.

    The animals, for better or worse, became recognizable mascots in Colombia, memorialized in sculptures, including one of a giant pink hippo named Vanesa that greets visitors to Mr. Escobar’s former estate, which has been turned into a theme park.

    A hunting party that included Colombian soldiers, hoping to stop the hippos from spreading beyond Mr. Escobar’s estate, shot and killed one named Pepe in 2009.

    “This procedure is very dangerous since the veterinarian must be very skilled to sterilize it in the shortest time possible, before it wakes up,” said Germán Jiménez, a biologist at the Pontifical Javeriana University in Colombia.

    Researchers have warned that the hippos, if left unchecked, could displace other mammals, such as manatees and capybaras, and that the large amount of waste they produce could alter aquatic ecosystems, leading to harmful algal blooms.

    In April, Aníbal Gaviria Correa, the governor of the Colombian region of Antioquia, posted a photo on social media of a dead hippo in a road after it was hit by a car.

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