Across the globe, wildlife has been exhibiting increasingly unusual behavior, often due to human-related substances. From drug-affected alligators in Florida to alcohol-thieving bears in suburban areas, and even hippos in Colombia with a dubious narcotic legacy, these incidents highlight the unintended consequences of human activities on nature.

In Florida, the phenomenon of “meth-gators” has emerged as a peculiar threat. These alligators, reportedly made more aggressive due to methamphetamine contamination in waterways, have become a cause for concern. The drug enters their environment through stormwater runoff and improperly disposed narcotics, potentially altering the behavior of these formidable creatures.

Suburban communities are also encountering wildlife under the influence. Bears have been breaking into homes in search of alcohol and marijuana edibles, raising alarms among residents. Wildlife experts caution that intoxicated bears can exhibit erratic and bold behavior, posing a risk to human safety.

Meanwhile, in Colombia, a thriving population of hippos, descendants of those once owned by the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar, is causing havoc as they traverse rivers and farmland. These hippos, originally imported for Escobar’s private zoo, have since multiplied and become a unique environmental challenge.

Wildlife investigators warn that drunk and high bears can become bold and unpredictable around humans.

In Colombia, a booming population of hippos once owned by Pablo Escobar is stomping across rivers and farmland. 

They now pose a growing danger to people and native wildlife as an out-of-control invasive species.

Experts say these cases highlight how human substances can disrupt animal behaviour and increase conflict.

Funny at first glance – terrifying on second – these creatures show how nature is now caught in our chemical chaos. 

Meth Gators

Deep in the swampy of Citrus County, Florida – a region infamous as America’s ‘meth hotspot’ – wildlife biologist and Animals on Drugs host Forrest Galante made the shocking discovery of an alligator high on methamphetamine and ready to attack.

Paddling a canoe through a murky bog, Galante revealed that gator aggression in the area has skyrocketed as drug-polluted waters sweep into their habitat – courtesy of storms, floods, and frantic dealers flushing contraband down toilets during police raids.

To track down one of these chemically-charged predators, Galante teamed up with emergency wildlife trapper Ron Sanderson and rehab specialist Chris Gillette – but the first nuisance gators they found showed no signs of being drugged.

So the team changed tactics. Instead of hunting gators, they hunted the meth by following contamination clues straight to a rundown, abandoned swimming pool where locals whispered a furious reptile lurked.

Due to the high levels of ammonia in the swampy area, the experts deducted that it may be ‘anoxic’ – meaning there is not enough oxygen for things to live. 

Wading waist-deep into stagnant, ammonia-choked sludge, the men suddenly spotted a scaly head rise from beneath a bush – the tell-tale sign of a gator trapped in toxic waters and growing increasingly unstable.

It thrashed and vanished into the muck again and again, but Galante refused to give up – gripping fishing hooks and plunging bare hands into the black water as the predator lunged beneath his feet.

‘This water is so mucked up I can’t even tell what I’m snagging. But with no ability to sun itself, this Gator can only survive so long in this toxic slop,’ the nature expert said.

Finally, the team seized the thrashing beast, later nicknamed Methanie – as Galante straddled its back and clamped its jaws shut with his bare hands while Gillette secured the tape.

Dragged out of the filth and into rehabilitation, the once-erratic gator soon showed dramatic improvements in its health and behaviour – proof that even a meth-amped monster can recover once freed from humanity’s polluted chaos. 

Boozy Bears

Across the United States, a new kind of party animal is emerging – and it’s leaving chaos in its wake.

Galante revealed that one night, a bear ransacked his own rubbish bins purely on the hunt for booze.

‘It’s knocked over the trash cans, knocked over the recycling can, literally trashed our parcel locker. But the craziest thing is this literally just gone for booze,’ he said. 

Food? Ignore, Alcohol? Destroyed. Galante pointed to the scene of the crime – a pile of untouched snacks and a shredded margarita mix bottle torn apart by desperate claws.

‘Look at the look at the teeth marks in there and the scratches, Margarita mix thing shredded. And you can just see this whole mess that this bear has made is all the booze stuff’.

So, he asked the only logical question. Can bears really be alcoholics?

That investigation led him deep into a rising trend – bears smashing into homes, sheds, and even cars to chug booze and eat marijuana edibles.

Bear biologist Wes Larson explained the shocking science behind the bingeing.

Alcohol has a unique flavour and a huge calorie reward meaning once a bear gets a taste, it comes back for more. And sometimes, those cravings turn deadly. 

A railway incident in Montana spilled grain alcohol on the tracks – and dozens of bears rushed in for a free drink. Many never made it back.

‘Over 60 bears in total have been hit because of the spell, both from the toxicity and the train strikes,’ Larson said.

‘That’s roughly three per cent of the population is getting hit by trains because of spilled alcohol.

‘When you apply the effects of alcohol to a hulking animal that is already venturing into human territory, you’ve got a perfect storm of destruction’. 

And booze is not the only intoxicating temptation – legalised marijuana has opened a whole new buffet. 

With 39 states across the US having legalised some form of medical or recreational marijuana, almost 75 per cent of Americans have easy access to the drug. 

Now, many curious bears are breaking in for a taste of THC.

In Grand County, a woman named Allison found herself face-to-face with a weed-high bear after it discovered her stash of edibles in her car. 

‘I was leaving for work and I walk up to my truck. I open the door and I see a bear and I run off. From the safety of my front door I see what’s happening,’ she said.

‘It was tearing at the steering wheel, the ceiling’.

She then revealed that there had been marijuana edibles in the vehicle which was believed to have been the trigger that drew the predator in.

‘I mean, I’ve learned a lot from that to not leave any edibles or anything that’s going to draw a bear into my car,’ she said.

Another man, Tyler, shared a similar story of a bear breaking into his shed and ‘ransacking’ his stash of edible brownies and cookies.

‘I get into the shed, it’s completely obliterated. Like, ransacked. Destroyed,’ he recalled.

‘The edible wrappers are everywhere. I wish I had cameras to see what happened.

‘This bear must have had an absolute field day eating more edibles than I’ve probably ever eaten in my life’.

As hilarious as a stoned bear might sound, Galante warned the consequences are anything but cartoonish.

‘A bear eating weed doesn’t know it’s consuming a controlled substance, and an overdose can cause delusions, hallucinations, seizures and panic attacks,’ Galante explained.

Cocaine Hippos 

Colombia – a land famed for its lush rainforests, jaw-dropping wildlife and vibrant culture – is now confronting an unbelievable new menace.

Decades after drug kingpin Pablo Escobar ruled Medellin with iron and cocaine-dust-covered fists, his criminal empire is still tearing through the country in the most astonishing way possible.

Escobar’s extravagant lifestyle was legendary – complete with private zoos, exotic animals and rumours of feeding his beastly pets coca leaves to ‘fuel their rage’ and unleash them on unsuspecting enemies.

And now, long after his death in 1993, those animals are back in the headlines.

His infamous ‘cocaine hippos’ stunned the world. Four escaped after the cartel collapsed, but their numbers have exploded to nearly 200 as they storm through villages, wreck crops and threaten lives in the Magdalena River Basin.

‘These massive creatures are displacing native wildlife, destroying habitats, and even endangering human lives,’ Galante said.

‘Locals call them cocaine hippos, and rumours swirl about Escobar feeding his pets coca leaves to fuel their rage and ultimately consume his rivals’.

Wild rumours are spreading among frightened villagers that these massive predators may have inherited a taste for the drug that once bankrolled Escobar’s empire. 

Locals whisper that cartel henchmen once spiked the animals’ food with cocaine to make them vicious – and some wonder if the behaviour has never fully worn off. 

Cocaine-linked wildlife isn’t a joke – it’s a national crisis. 

Environmental teams are racing to intervene before the situation spirals even further out of control. In one dramatic scene, highly trained veterinarians worked to sedate and sterilise a rampaging beast to stop the population boom – knowing that one wrong move could mean a brutal death. 

Despite their best efforts, this environmental nightmare is only growing.

What started decades ago as the excesses of a cartel kingpin has now become an ecological disaster – threatening native species, ecosystems and the people who live alongside them. 

And with every year that passes, these cocaine-fuelled survivors become harder to track, tougher to manage and more dangerous.