Wildlife officials in Colombia are grappling with a giant problem in the form of a herd of feral hippos that has grown to epic proportions.
The monstrous creatures arrived in the country by way of the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar, who had four hippos secretly brought to his ranch as part of his collection of exotic animals.
After he had been brought to justice, however, the hippos managed to escape and made their way to a nearby river.
From the initial four that fled, there are now believed to be an astounding 40 of the enormous animals and likely even more on the way as the creatures keep reproducing.
And since the hippo is not a native animal to Colombia, the 'lucky' visitors have found themselves atop the food chain and appear to be flourishing with no threats from the animal kingdom to their proverbial invasion.
One unfortunate biologist, who is tasked with keeping an eye on the problem, lamented that he can barely get close enough to their domain to count them, lest he be attacked by the dangerous beasts.
He warns that there are warns that there are rumors of people being attacked by the hippos and lamented that officials are at their wit's end when it comes to solving the problem.
Hopes to sterilize the animals proved too costly and attempts to find zoos to take the creatures in have also failed to find success.
So, for now, the hippos continue to have free reign and are poised to take over unless something can be done to stop them.
Source: EuroNews