 Police caught up and killed Escobar in 1993. By 1998, the government seized possession of his property and sent most of the animals, elephants, giraffes, to zoos. However, Escobar's hippos were considered too dangerous to move and soon started breeding. By 2023, there were an estimated 169 hippos in Colombia's Magdalena Basin. Biologists say that number could rise to 1,400 by 2024 if nothing is done.