Hacienda Nápoles
{{Short description|Estate belonging to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar}}
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{{Medellin Cartel}}
Hacienda Nápoles (Spanish for "Naples Estate") was an estate built and owned by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia Department, Colombia, approximately {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Medellín and {{convert|249|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of Bogotá. The estate covers about {{convert|20|km²|sqmi|abbr=on}} of land. Following Escobar's death in 1993, many of the original buildings on the property were demolished or reconditioned for other uses.
History
Image:Pórtico Hacienda Nápoles.JPG
File:Parque Temático Hacienda Nápoles waterpark.jpg
The estate included a Spanish colonial house, a sculpture park, and a complete zoo that included many kinds of animals from different continents such as antelope, elephants, exotic birds, giraffes, hippopotamuses, ostriches, and ponies. The ranch also boasted a large collection of old and luxury cars and bikes, a private airport, a brothel, and even a Formula 1-racing track. Mounted atop the hacienda's entrance gate is a replica of the Piper PA-18 Super Cub airplane (tail number HK-617-P).{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2016/01/24/pablo-escobar-hacienda/|date=August 29, 1989|title=Hacienda Nápoles: What do you buy the drug lord who has everything? A zoo|author=Arbuckle, Alex Q. |website=Mashable}}
After Escobar was shot and killed by Colombian police in 1993, his family entered a legal struggle with the Colombian government over the property. The government prevailed, and the neglected property is now managed by the Municipality of Puerto Triunfo. The cost of maintenance for the zoo and the animals was too expensive for the government, so it was decided that most of the animals would be donated to various South American zoos.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hacienda-napoles-at-home-with-pablo-escobar-the-drug-baron-who-lived-in-a-zoo-766829.html|title=Hacienda Napoles: At home with Pablo Escobar, the drug baron who lived in a zoo|date=26 December 2007|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=29 May 2023}}
Other original features include dinosaur statues as well as decommissioned military vehicles and a giant hand sculpture.
By November 2006, ownership of the property had passed to the Colombian government and was valued at 5 billion Colombian pesos (approximately $2.23 million).{{cite web|url=http://www.presidencia.gov.co/sne/2004/agosto/12/22122004.htm |title=LA HACIENDA NAPOLES AHORA ES PROPIEDAD DEL ESTADO COLOMBIANO |language=es |date=September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040820064259/http://www.presidencia.gov.co/sne/2004/agosto/12/22122004.htm |website=Presidencia.gov.co|archive-date=August 20, 2004 }} The hacienda's zoo as of February 2019 hosts bison, a rare goat, one ostrich, and zebras. Escobar's hippopotamuses have escaped and become feral, living in at least four lakes in the area and spreading into neighbouring rivers. Contact between the hippos and local fishermen led to calls for the hippo population to be culled. By 2011, there were at least 30 animals roaming wild in the countryside; the large number of hippos makes it difficult to find zoos into which they can be resettled.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27905743|title=Pablo Escobar's hippos: A growing problem|date=June 26, 2014|accessdate=June 26, 2014|author=Kremer, William |work=BBC News Magazine}} There are also reportedly 40 hippopotamuses living on the grounds of the hacienda itself;{{cite news|url=http://haciendanapoles.com/tarifas/|title=Parque Tematico Hacienda Napoles|author=Marta Hermaniuk|access-date=December 1, 2018}} as of June 2014, the park's mascot, a live female hippo named Vanessa (who responds to her name), remains at the site.
In 2014, a "Jurassic Park"-style African theme park was operating on the grounds, which have been rented by a private company. "Parque Temático Hacienda Nápoles" comes complete with a water park, a guided safari attraction, aquariums, and a replica of the caves in Colombia's Cueva de los Guácharos National Park.{{cite web|title=Diversion acuatica|url=http://www.haciendanapoles.com/parque-acuatico-acuasaurios|website=Parque Tematico Hacienda Napoles|accessdate=7 September 2016|archive-date=2 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902010923/http://www.haciendanapoles.com/parque-acuatico-acuasaurios|url-status=dead}} In December 2018, a day ticket to the park cost 42,000 pesos (around $15). The Escobar museum, his burned private car collection, and the abandoned "ruins" of his house are still publicly accessible, but are reported to have collapsed in February 2015.{{Cite web|url=http://www.elcolombiano.com/antioquia/la-mansion-de-pablo-escobar-en-la-hacienda-napoles-se-desplomo-CX1220664|title = La mansión de Pablo Escobar en la Hacienda Nápoles se desplomó|date = 4 February 2015}}
Escobar kept four hippos in a private menagerie at Hacienda Nápoles. They were deemed too difficult to seize and move after Escobar's death, and hence left on the untended estate. By 2007, the animals had multiplied to 16 and had taken to roaming the area for food in the nearby Magdalena River.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-hippos20dec20,0,5373140.story |title=A hippo critical situation |access-date=27 March 2008 |first=Chris |last=Kraul |date=20 December 2006 |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324015829/http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-hippos20dec20-story.html |archive-date=24 March 2015 |url-status=live }} The National Geographic Channel produced a documentary about them titled Cocaine Hippos.{{cite web |url= http://natgeotv.com/asia/cocaine-hippos/about|title= The Invaders: Cocaine Hippos|publisher= National Geographic Channel|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130626213741/http://natgeotv.com/asia/cocaine-hippos/about|archive-date= 26 June 2013|url-status= dead}} A report published in a Yale student magazine noted that local environmentalists are campaigning to protect the animals, although there is no clear plan for what will happen to them.{{cite web|last1=Nagvekar|first1=Rahul|title=Zoo Gone Wild: After Escobar, Colombia Faces His Hippos|url=http://thepolitic.org/zoo-gone-wild-after-escobar-colombia-faces-his-hippos/|website=The Politic|accessdate=25 August 2017}} In 2018, National Geographic published another article on the hippos which found disagreement among environmentalists on whether they were having a positive or negative impact, but that conservationists and locals — particularly those in the tourism industry — were mostly in support of their continued presence.{{cite web|last=Wilcox|first=Christie|title=Could Pablo Escobar's Escaped Hippos Help the Environment?|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/colombia-cocaine-hippos-rewilding-experiment-news/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926195244/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/colombia-cocaine-hippos-rewilding-experiment-news/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 26, 2018|website=National Geographic|date=26 September 2018|access-date=18 October 2018}} In January 2021, scientists proposed to euthanize the now approximately 100 hippos, as they have dispersed over the Magdalena river basin.{{cite web|title=Proponen sacrificar alrededor de cien hipopótamos de Pablo Escobar|url=https://www.eltiempo.com/vida/medio-ambiente/cientificos-proponen-sacrificar-hipopotamos-de-pablo-escobar-561411|website=El Tiempo|date=20 January 2021|access-date=20 January 2021|language=es}} Some scientists have suggested castrating the male hippos to prevent further breeding. {{Cite news|last=|first=|date=January 11, 2021|title=Invasion of the hippos|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/11/invasive-hippos-escobar-colombia-castrate/|access-date=|newspaper=Washington Post}} In February 2022, the Colombian government announced that hippos will be declared an invasive species. The hippo was officially added to the list of invasive alien species on March 25 2022.{{cite news |author= |title=These are the species that have been declared as invasive in Colombia |url=https://www.infobae.com/en/2022/03/26/these-are-the-species-that-have-been-declared-as-invasive-in-colombia/#:~:text=The%20administrative%20act%20modifies%20Article,list%20of%20invasive%20alien%20species. |access-date=8 September 2022 |work=infobae |date=26 March 2022 |language=es-ES}} On November 3 2023, Environment Minister of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, said that, of the 166 hippos descended from Escobar's herd, 20 would be sterilised, others would be transferred abroad - and "some" would be euthanised. Colombian experts have long warned that the hippos' uncontrolled reproduction poses a threat to humans and native wildlife and estimates suggest that the population could reach 1,000 by 2035.{{Cite news |date=2023-11-03 |title=Pablo Escobar's feral hippos face cull in Colombia |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/67306304 |access-date=2023-11-03}}
References
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External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{official website|http://haciendanapoles.com/}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtN71O0SdEw Doradal prison] - YouTube (Spanish)
- [https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=13/5.9083/-74.7294 OpenStreetMap - Hacienda Nápoles]
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