A hippopotamus was fatally struck by a truck Tuesday night on a highway in Colombia, where the unusual legacy of the late drug lord Pablo Escobar is considered an invasive species, firefighters said, according to AFP.

The animal, weighing more than a ton, was struck on the highway between Bogotá and Medellin, in an area owned by Pablo Escobar, Maria Magdalena Perez, commander of the fire brigade in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo, told AFP. , in the department of Antioch in the north-west of the country.

The front end of the truck involved in the accident is broken, she added, clarifying that the driver was not injured.

In the late 1980s, a drug lord who died in a shootout with police in 1993 brought several hippos to his plot. For many years, they multiplied uncontrollably in the swampy area. Currently, there are about 150 copies.

This is not the first time that a road accident involving a hippopotamus has occurred in the region. In December, a car collided with one of these African mammals, but no one was injured. The big animal survived and ran away.

Colombia’s Ministry of the Environment declared the species invasive in 2022, paving the way for possible hunting. A sterilization program was attempted but failed.

Experts believe that its uncontrolled reproduction poses a threat to the local population and wildlife.

In March, the governor of the Antioquia department announced a plan to move nearly half the herd to reserves in Mexico and India, an operation estimated to cost about $3.5 million.