A hippo descended from these owned by the Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar has died after being struck by an SUV.

The folks contained in the car have been unhurt within the collision which occurred on a freeway from Bogota to Medellin within the northwest of Colombia, near the place Escobar's property had been.

The hippo died instantly after the crash late on Tuesday native time and was taken to be analysed, environmental authorities stated.

"This is one of the dangers that the presence of this species represents. Many of them cross the highway where many vehicles pass, it is also a danger to people," stated David Echeverri López, a biologist at Cornare, the native environmental authority.

"Hippos are unpredictable, at any moment they can attack a person," he added.

Escobar, who had an estimated web value of $30bn (£24bn), illegally introduced a bunch of hippos to reside in his personal zoo on his Hacienda Napoles property within the Nineteen Eighties.

The property turned a vacationer attraction after Escobar was shot lifeless by police in 1993.

Residents of close by Puerto Triunfo have turn out to be used to hippos typically roaming freely concerning the city.

Read extra:'Pablo Escobar hippos' to be declared an invasive speciesHippos spark concern amongst residents in Colombia

The hippos, that are native to Africa, unfold from the property into close by rivers and now quantity round 130.

They haven't any pure predators in Colombia and have been declared an invasive species that would upset the ecosystem.

Environmental officers stated their inhabitants might rise to 400 in eight years.

Colombia has proposed transferring no less than 70 of the animals to India and Mexico to manage their inhabitants

Scientists warn that the hippos' faeces change the composition of rivers and will impression the habitat of manatees and capybaras.

Content Source: information.sky.com