Escobar built Hacienda Napoles approximately 150 kilometers east of Medellin and 249 kilometers northwest of Bogota, in the lowland heat of the Magdalena valley. The estate included a Spanish colonial house and the extravagances that narcotics money could buy without limit: elephants, giraffes, antelopes, ostriches, and exotic birds shipped in from multiple continents to stock a private zoo. There was a collection of vintage and luxury automobiles, motorcycles, and the airstrip that kept Escobar connected to his operations. Life-sized dinosaur statues dotted the grounds, a peculiar decorative choice that has somehow survived better than most of the original buildings. After Colombian police shot and killed Escobar on December 2, 1993, in Medellin, his family fought the government over the property. The government won. Most of the exotic animals were donated to zoos across South America, the mansion eventually collapsed, and the estate fell into neglect.

Escobar kept four hippopotamuses in his private menagerie. Unlike the elephants or giraffes, the hippos were deemed too large, too dangerous, and too expensive to seize and relocate after his death. So they were left on the abandoned estate. It was a decision whose consequences no one fully anticipated. By 2007, the four had become sixteen and had begun roaming beyond the property, foraging along the Magdalena River. By 2011, at least thirty were living wild in the countryside. The National Geographic Channel produced a documentary about them called "Cocaine Hippos." By 2023, Colombia's environment minister Susana Muhamad announced there were 166 hippos descended from Escobar's original herd. Scientists estimate the population could reach 1,000 by 2035 if left unchecked.

The hippos have divided environmentalists, conservationists, and local communities. Some researchers argue the animals are filling an ecological niche left vacant since the extinction of South America's large herbivores thousands of years ago, potentially benefiting river ecosystems. Others warn that hippopotamuses, native to sub-Saharan Africa, pose genuine threats to native wildlife and to the fishermen who share the Magdalena's waterways. In February 2022, the Colombian government officially declared hippos an invasive species. In November 2023, Minister Muhamad outlined a three-pronged plan: sterilize twenty animals, transfer others abroad, and euthanize some. The tourism industry, however, has embraced the hippos. A female named Vanessa, who responds to her name, became the park's mascot. The tension between ecological responsibility and economic opportunity has no easy resolution.

The Municipality of Puerto Triunfo has transformed what remains of Hacienda Napoles into a family-oriented theme park. Waterslides, a Jurassic Adventure attraction, an African Museum, a Butterfly Vivarium, and a wildlife sanctuary now occupy the grounds. The sanctuary houses bison, zebras, ostriches, and other animals. Escobar's original mansion collapsed in 2015, but the dinosaur statues remain, standing guard over swimming pools where cartel associates once lounged. The original entrance arch with its mounted airplane was removed in 2019 and replaced with a larger structure, but photos of the famous arch remain a touchstone of Escobar mythology. A memorial museum on the grounds addresses the violence of the Escobar era. The park charges modest admission and draws visitors from across Colombia and beyond, offering the strange experience of spending a family day at a water park built on the ruins of a cocaine empire.