Baby hippo from Pablo Escobar herd rescued in Colombia

Authorities in northwestern Colombia said they rescued a baby hippopotamus descended from Pablo Escobar's herd after fishermen found it alone on a riverbank with signs of malnutrition.

Javier Valencia, director of the regional environmental authority, said on Tuesday that fishermen found the small hippo separated from its mother and hidden in bushes in a rural area of Puerto Nare municipality in Antioquia.

Veterinarians treated the animal for “advanced dehydration and malnutrition,” according to a statement. After being stabilised, it was transferred to a hippo sanctuary at Hacienda Napoles, Escobar's former estate, which is now a theme park.

Colombia's Environment Ministry says the country has around 200 invasive hippos living in the wild, all descended from animals brought to South America by Escobar. He imported four hippos in the 1980s for his private zoo at Hacienda Napoles.

After the Medellin cartel leader's death in 1993, the hippos escaped and settled along the banks of the Magdalena River. They have disrupted the ecosystem and attacked local residents.

The animals are considered an invasive species and are destabilising native ecosystems. Colombia's government this year approved a plan to cull around 80 of them after attempts to curb their reproduction through sterilisation failed.