The problem is raising food for these animals while in captivity. However, elephants have such a long gestation and slow growth rate that it takes years to raise enough elephants to feed these massive snakes. The buffalo boa became extinct due to loss of habitat and mass killing of buffalo during the days of early settlement in the United States. Both the colossal python and the gargantuan sea serpent are experiencing similar pressures due to dramatic reductions in elephant and whale populations. Herpetologist Raymond Ophidio believes that these animals can only be saved if we save the elephant and the whale.
Nature is a tightly linked web of delicate relationships between organisms.
The situation with the colossal python, gargantuan sea serpent, elephants, and whales illustrates this all to well. Thus, the struggle for survival continues for both the hunter and the hunted.