Musth, from the Urdu word mast meaning “intoxication” or “madness”¹, is a period of increased sexual activity and aggression in male elephants. One definition is "drunk." When the temporal glands begin to secrete, the fluid is watery and flows down the cheeks as a thin streak 7-10 cm long. So, the next time you see our five boys at Toyota Elephant Passage, take a minute to appreciate how their interactions are helping people on the other side of the world co-exist with wild Asian elephants! It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and a body mass of up to 10.4 t (11.5 short tons). In this article, we’re going to explore exactly what musth is, what causes it, and what its impact is on elephants. Bull elephants, particularly those in musth (see below), sometimes drape their trunks over their tusks. Annually, musth glands secrete a dark, oily, musky substance and become inflamed. Continue reading here: Age duration and timing of musth, History of the ivory trade with special reference to Africa. These include several behaviors, postures, and vocalizations performed almost exclusively by bulls when in musth. The ‘musth’ cycle usually last only a few days, but among the fatherless elephants it has somehow become curiously long. The elephant's temporal glands are a pair of modified sweat glands located on each side of the head between the eye and the ear. Here, we describe the pattern of musth-related characteristics in 14 captive elephant bulls by combining long-term observations of physical and behavioral changes with physiological data on testicular and adrenal function. 12%). Report from Assam State Zoo (Thakuria & Barthakur, 1994) Found inside – Page 120Musth and male - male competition in the African elephant . ... Rutting behaviour in African elephants : the phenomenon of musth . Behaviour 102 , 283-316 . musth provides a useful system with which to examine the possibility of honest signalling of motivation, rather than of fighting ability. What we learn from elephants in zoos helps us better understand how to study, manage and conserve elephants in the wild,” says LaDue. Making a rumbling noise through their mouth, known as ‘. This behavior has not been reported among Asian elephants. Musth rumble: Elephants communicate at low sound frequencies (infrasound) that travel over longer distances without attenuation (see chapter 4). Individual males come into musth at a specific time each year and their activity during this period greatly influences the elephant society as well as man-elephant interaction. During musth, male elephants are flooded with up to ten times as much testosterone than usual. Found inside – Page 351Musth and male-male competition in the African elephant. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge. 1987. Rutting behaviour in African elephants: the phenomenon ... It is speculated that this serves to waft the scent of the musth secretion forward toward other elephants. During this time, the male elephant increases his rank of dominance and is more likely to be in relations with an estrous female than a nonmusth male. Most researchers are extremely impressed by the social structure of the elephant. Thus, bulls are almost invariably kept restrained for the duration of their musth phase. This was very unusual behavior that we had not seen from Billy before, especially towards Groucho, and the team worked quickly to separate the group and determine what might have caused this dramatic change in behavior. Joyce Poole's accounts of the behavioral ecology of musth … It best describes the hormonal condition that all elephant bulls will experience Only males elephants over 30 years old go into musth – usually during winter – for several physiological reasons. Other highly interesting chara… Tusking: At Amboseli, males in musth were observed going down on their knees to tusk the ground, throwing up lumps of mud or grass. It is a natural condition of increased testosterone levels and heightened sexual activity and aggression. From an internationally renowned field scientist comes this fascinating story of her unexpected discovery of a RsecretS new mode of elephant communication. As human populations grow and the boundary between wild elephants gets smaller and smaller, it’s important for us to understand how musth plays a role in an elephant’s behavior. On the other hand, females tend to have only one baby per pregnancy. • Adult male Asian elephants are less social than females. Their behaviour would become increasingly violent. An elephant protects a young girl who met with an accident. Musth comes from a Persian word with the same pronunciation – ‘mast’, which literally means drunk or inebriated. Found inside – Page 274Rutting behavior in African elephants : The phenomenon of musth . Behaviour , 102 , 283–316 . Poole , J. H. ( 1989a ) . Announcing intent : The aggressive ... An elephant in musth shows excessive aggression and behaves oddly, often indulging in fights with other bull elephants. A period of heightened sexual and aggressive activity in bulls. • Annually, musth glands secrete a dark, oily, musky substance and become inflamed. The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is one of two living African elephant species. We then used a three-state hidden Markov model (HMM) to detect musth behaviour in a subset of sequential tracking data. The reason being for this is due to the temporal gland. Urine dribbles from greenish-appearing penis. As amazing as it is to watch these boys interact, socializing Asian bull (male) elephants is relatively new, and we’re learning more and more about the intricate social dynamics of this animal every day. Currently, elephants are the only animals that go into musth; however, ancient mammoths were also presumed to go through musth, as well. Joyce Poole's accounts of the behavioral ecology of musth in Amboseli's elephants remain the most detailed so far. Musth also influences the association patterns and sexual behaviour of both male and female elephants. " Musth" (Musth or must /ˈmʌst/; from Persian, 'drunk') is a periodic condition in male elephants characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. And make sure you stop by one of our daily elephant demonstrations to learn how you can help this endangered species. The presence of such a high amount of sexual hormone inside the elephant’s body heats it up from its usual 35.9 °C. Elephant musth is a term referring to a bull elephant’s biological condition. You may have heard about elephant musth before, and may even know that it relates in some way to bull elephants and mating… But there’s much more to it than that. Just a few short weeks later Groucho (46 years old at the time) joined the group under the watchful eye of nearly every person on the elephant care team. Urination with sheathed penis: Bulls in musth, which dribble urine at a low rate for more than an hour, urinate with the penis retracted within the sheath such that the urine is sprayed onto the insides of the hind legs. In simple words, the swelling of their glands makes a bull elephant mentally frustrated and physically agitated. In addition JAINUDEEN et al. Elephant Musth. These hormonal moments of heightened sexual behaviour are called musth. Calves are born 85 cm (33 in) tall and weigh around 120 kg (260 lb). Found inside – Page 524Rutting behaviour in African elephants: The phenomenon of musth. Behaviour 102: 283-316. Poole, J. H. 1989a. Mate guarding, reproductive success and female ... Ganswindt A, Rasmussen HB, Heistermann M, Hodges JK (2005) The sexually active states of free-ranging male African elephants (Loxodonta africana): defining musth and non-musth using endocrinology, physical signals, and behavior. To subdue this intense pain the bull elephant shows aggression towards all other animals near him. Musth, androgens, chemical signaling, Asian elephant, tes tosterone. The most significant of these chemical communications is musth, which is marked by secretions, hormonal spikes, and changes in the behaviour of adult males. On each side of the male elephants’ forehead is a gland called the temporal gland. Musth was originally discovered in … Unusual word, isnt’ it?! Found inside"O'Connell, one of the leading experts on elephant communication and social behavior, offers a rare inside look at the social world of African male elephants. [This book] tracks Greg and his group of bulls as [he] tries to understand the ... If you come to Toyota Elephant Passage, you might see anywhere from one to five of our Asian male elephants together in a given yard. Musth (pronounced “must”) is an annual hormonal cycle that naturally occurs in adult male bull elephants. GENERAL I ARTICLE Musth in Elephants A Rajaram Animal behaviour is intimately connected with chemical signaling, often through glandular secretions. African savanna bulls in musth give a distinct set of calls with frequencies as low as 14 Hz (hertz) and sound pressure levels up to 108 decibels (at a distance of 1 m). Serum testosterone during musth is higher than in a nonmusth elephant, and the animal’s behaviour is erratic; they are uncontrollable ( musth is Hindi for…. Jake and Chuck might be sparring in one yard while Billy and Bodhi forage in another. The reasons are: Female elephants don’t have musth in their lifecycle. During the early stage, the temporal glands swell slightly and are clearly visible as small dark patches. The relatively long pregnancy is maintained by five corpus luteums (as … The login page will open in a new tab. Ear wave: In contrast to other ear signals, when both ears are flapped, a musth bull performs the ear wave by moving only one ear at a time. On each side of the male elephants’ forehead is a gland called the temporal gland. It is from these glands that a bull elephant in musth secretes a thick tar-like chemical called temporin, which leads to an increase in their aggression. 3. Swelling of the temporal glands Read More. ritualized among musth males (Poole 1987a; Kahl and . The physical and behavioral manifestations of musth in elephants are similar to those described for … Musth is the Sanskrit word for intoxicated and is pronounced `moost' but has been translated into English as `must'. Found inside – Page 399Poole, J.H. (1987) Rutting behavior in African elephants: the phenomenon of musth. Behaviour 102: 283–316. Poole, J.H. (1989a) Announcing intent: the ... It is possible that only the larger-ear African bulls are able to perform this motion, or that such an act is less frequent and may have been overlooked in Asian bulls. Generally characterised by the secretion of a hormone rich substance called temporin from the temporal gland (on either side of the elephant’s head) and a steady trickle of urine down the back legs of the elephant, musth involves a rise in the reproductive hormones in the elephant’s body. The condition can last anywhere from a few days, to as long as several months. The main characteristics of musth are: copious secretions from and enlarge-ment of the temporal glands, the continuous discharge of urine, an increase in aggressive behaviour, and positive association with female groups. The musth period lasts between several days to several months. In elephant: Reproduction and life cycle. Found inside – Page 84... Poole JH (1987) Rutting behaviour in African elephants: The phenomenon of musth. ... Moss CJ (1981) Musth in the African elephant, Loxodonta africana. Found inside – Page 388Poole, J. H. (1987) Rutting behaviour in African elephants: the phenomenon of musth. Behaviour, 102, 283–316. Poole, J. H. (1989) Announcing intent: the ... Musth is an Indian word. Found inside – Page 731The heightened aggressive behaviour can last for as little as a few days to several months, and most elephant handlers believe that musth is a sign of good ... The behaviour of musth and non-musth males suggests that opponents are able to estimate An elephant in musth is looking for a mate with such singularity of purpose that he hardly takes the time to eat or drink. Behavior. The ‘musth’ cycle usually last only a few days, but among the fatherless elephants it has somehow become curiously long. Have you heard of musth? In June of 2019, more than two years after his first musth, Billy completed his third annual cycle and we now know what to look for in Billy’s behavior that would indicate to us that this hormonal change is occurring. Males in musth range more widely than nonmusth males, spending more time with female groups or alone and less time with other males (Hall-Martin, 1987, Poole, 1989a, Rasmussen et al., 1996). Individual males come into musth at a specific time each year and their activity during this period greatly influences the elephant society as well as man-elephant interaction. This book provides an ecological analysis of elephant-human interaction and its implications for the conservation of elephants, based mainly on a study carried out in southern India. Musth indicators (temporal gland secretion, aggression, urine dribbling) increased with musth but not prior to it. This is almost always an attempt at intimidation and should be interpreted as such – those new to elephant behaviour should take this as a sign to move out of the male’s way. During this period bull elephants secrete a significant amount of a hormone-rich substance called temporin from their temporal glands on either side of their foreheads, which impacts their behaviour. During musth, the temporal glands swell in size, and its thought this causes acute pain to the elephant’s eyes. And that’s your lot for the elephant musth. It is distributed across 37 African countries and inhabits forests, grasslands and … The physical and behavioral characteristics and temporal patterning of musth in African and Asian elephants are compared and found to be remarkably similar. For young male elephants, musth happens over the course of a few days or weeks, while musth in older males can last for months (know how long elephants live for?). A more frenzied act of digging the tusks into the bottom of a pond was once observed in a young bull probably experiencing musth for the first time. Elephants are the only animals to have a temporal gland. All the boys got along great, and we officially had North America’s largest bachelor herd of elephants. If in a vehicle, stay at a safe distance from the bull, do … The raised testosterone levels bring about a number of changes including heightened aggression and dominance. This is one of the reasons why bulls in musth sire about 75% of calves (Hollister-Smith et al., 2007). The behavior of elusive African forest elephants can be a challenge to study. This is very significant and obvious in Asian male elephants during their musth period when their temporal glands secrete a Digging their tusks into the ground, to deal with the pain from their glands. In this incident from West Bengal … Every day brings a new combination for our boys, which is just as fun for their care team to watch as it is for them to socialize. Divisional forest officer (DFO), Athgarh, Sasmita Lenka said, “Musth is a periodic condition in (bull) male elephants characterised by highly aggressive behaviour and accompanied by a large rise in their reproductive hormones. Males in musth range more widely than nonmusth males, spending more time with female groups or alone and less time with other males (Hall-Martin 1987; Poole 1989a; Rasmussen et al. It is well known in Asia that captive bull elephants in musth become aggressive and fail to respond to commands from their keepers. For some bull elephants, it reaches 140 times higher than normal. The researchers hypothesised that when the adult males enter musth, dominance relationships may affect the number of mating opportunities they procure. The musth is part of the natural behavior of the elephant. Horm Behav 47: 83–91. Elephants communicate using sound and scent. Found inside – Page 144... JG (1972) Observations on musth in the domesticated Asiatic elephant. ... context for learning and behavioural development among African elephants. Trying to understand the causes of that behavior, or “get inside their heads” as … This, combined with a swinging motion to the head and tusks while walking, would project a formidable image of a musth bull to its opponents. We’re back this Friday with more EleFACTs about male elephants. Musth is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants, characterised by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. Specifically, the study was designed to incorporate anob servational behavioral profile sensitive to drug effects in elephants (Siegel & Brodie, 1984) as well as more care ful testing of LSD dosages independent of additional drugs. Individual Behavior. Elephants are the only animals to have a temporal gland. Annually, musth glands secrete a dark, oily, musky substance and become inflamed. Musth is a Sanskrit word meaning intoxicated. (1986) Early social development among African elephant calves. orangutans) and whales, while the musth parameter adds a unique feature. Births tend to take place during the wet season. Why two of Denver Zoo's Most Well-Known Primates Have a New Place to Call Home By Kristin…, Members and Guests Are Now Able to Witness First-Hand the Zoo’s Outstanding Veterinary Care at the Helen and Arthur…, A Rhino Keeper Reflects on Joona’s Miraculous Birth and Her Amazing First Year By Chris Bobko, Toyota Elephant Passage Keeper …, HOURS: 8:30am-5pm (Members), 10am-5pm (General Admission) |. I briefly describe some of her observations and supplement them with what is known about musth behavior in Asian elephants. Something else triggered the aggressive behavior: the biochemistry in male elephants called musth. 1996). These behaviors basically serve either to repel potential competitors or to attract estrous females. The Author Has Been Studying The Life Of Wild Elephants In Southern India Since 1980. This Is The Story Of His Work On Elephants, Their Ecology, Social Behaviour, Interactions With People, And The Problems They Face. When elephants come across deceased remains of other elephants, a silent pause is taken, as the remains are touched with their trunks. More recent usage of musth refers to a state of enjoyment or pleasure. The Asian elephant shares some breeding tactics common to other mammals including some primates (e.g. The Gajraj family includes Laxmi (22), Sushila (18), Vishwa (2) … Feet and general body language Musth walk: A musth bull may walk with its head held high, at an angle such that the chin looks tucked in, and the ears spread and motionless. Their behaviour would become increasingly violent. Among musth males Mud-Wallowing is unusually vigorous and is associated with numerous musth behaviors, such as Trunk-Curling, Ear-Waving, Musth-Rumbling and is part of a musth display. Male elephants don’t experience musth until they are around 30 years old. “One purpose of this is to let other males know to keep away, as musth is synonymous with increased vigour and high physical power,” explains Lakshminarayanan. Observations of musth behavior in Asian elephants have largely remained anecdotal or descriptive. Musth Elephants have a musth gland located just beneath the skin’s surface, halfway between the eye and ear, on each side of their head. This behavior has also been seen in Asian elephants and may serve to scent mark an individual's identity. Non- musth elephants also mark but the behavior is more . We confirmed that temporal gland secretion was a better indicator of behavioral musth than urine dribbling. Musth or must is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. Found inside – Page 181Musth should be allowed to have its own course and need not be suppressed by ... M. R. Reproductive behaviour of the Asiatic elephant ( Elephas maximus ... Physically they have secretions from their temporal glands between their eyes and ears, and often have continual trickles of urine down the backs of their legs. The inner and upper portion of the ear is thrust forward suddenly, with the outer and lower portion of the ear following. Gestation in elephants typically lasts around two years with interbirth intervals usually lasting four to five years. They enter musth — a mate-searching strategy for old (above 30 years of age) males, annually. It has also been seen to throw other vegetation at elephants. Found inside – Page 43African elephant calves. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 18, 353-61. ... Rutting behaviour in African elephants: the phenomenon of musth. "In Elephants and Ethics, Christen Wemmer and Catherine A. Christen assemble an international cohort of experts to review the history of human-elephant relations, discuss current issues of vital concern to elephant welfare, and assess the ... This social structure is also very different where the females live as a herd and the males are at. Bull elephants, particularly those in musth (see below), sometimes drape their trunks over their tusks. Later, the temporal glands swell considerably and discharge more copiously. In musth, an elephant starts to behave oddly and shows aggression towards male elephants and other animals. African elephants are also very sensitive to seismic cues, though similar research on Asian elephants is lacking. The onset of musth can be seen from swelling of the temporal glands and the secretion of fluid (the musth fluid), which streams down the cheeks of the animal (fig. A bull Elephant is most dangerous when in Musth ,which is a periodic condition characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones, Even the most placid Elephants can become highly violent during Musth, Musth indicators (temporal gland secretion, aggression, urine dribbling) increased with musth but not prior to it. Age, musth and paternity success in wild male elephants, Loxodonta africana. Each male comes into musth at a specific time each year (varies from male to male) Typically lasts 6-12 weeks, but year-long musth periods have been recorded. A musth rumble is usually performed in conjunction with the ear wave. Musth depends on three key biological events. Mourning Behavior The nature of elephant social structure is extended into the mourning behavior for deceased companions. After careful examination of his behavior over the next couple of days, it was determined that Billy was maturing and had come into his first musth. ... A … Elephants have a musth gland located just beneath the skin’s surface, halfway between the eye and ear, on each side of their head. Bathing appears to be pleasurable and is essential to elephants. The reproductive behavior of wild elephants. It is distributed across 37 African countries and inhabits forests, grasslands and … A musth elephant is primed to mate, and fights other bull elephants, attacks other animals, and may destroy inanimate objects in its way. Found inside – Page 285Rutting behavior in African elephants: The phenomenon of musth. Behaviour IOQ: 283*316. . 1989a. Announcing intent: The aggressive state of musth in African ... Their testosterone increases significantly, it has huge impacts on their behavior and they exhibit some physiological changes including draining from their temporal gland on the side of their face as well as continuous urine dribbling down their back legs. Swelling of their temporal glands (between their eyes and ears). Musth is a period where mature male elephants experience heightened sexual and aggressive behavior caused by increased levels of testosterone in the blood and urine. Frequent urination, with a steady trickle down the back of their legs. This is almost always an attempt at intimidation and should be interpreted as such – those new to elephant behaviour should take this as a sign to move out of the male’s way. November 1, 2020 | By dw. This means that females are often not able to mate whilst a male is in musth, or are able to mate whilst a male is not in musth. Musth: is a periodic condition in bull elephants, characterized by highly aggressive behavior, accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones – testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. This behavior occurs in the following context(s): Maintenance Want to learn more about this and other elephant behaviors? Denver Zoo is participating in a study with researchers Wendy Kiso and Chase LaDue to study musth. This is due to the high levels of testosterone in their systems. A musth male would gently press his tusks against an embankment, and the temporal glands would visibly discharge fluid. Musth is a normal periodic condition in male elephants characterized by highly aggressive behaviour and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. Seeking a solution, researchers introduced six older male elephants to the park. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to both humans and other elephants. Found inside – Page 59Managing African elephant populations: act or let die? Proceedings of an Expert ... Rutting behaviour in African elephants: the phenomenon of musth. Musth - mostly misunderstood. What is Musth? For a typical mature elephant schedule is something like: In their natural habitats, mature bull elephants tend to show these three stages properly. Found insideUniversity of Pretoria, Onderstepoort: Vaccination against GnRH may suppress aggressive behaviour and musth in African elephant (Loxodonta africana) bulls ... It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and a body mass of up to 10.4 t (11.5 short tons). Typically, only a single young is born, but twins sometimes occur. Standoffs and fights with other bull elephants. Found inside – Page 357Testosterone secretion, musth behaviour and social dominance in captive male Asian elephants living near the equator. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility ... Let’s look at them now: When an elephant is about to enter musth, the testosterone levels inside its body rises significantly – up to 60 times its natural level. More specifically, an elephant in musth shows some or all of these signs: Elephant in musth in Kruger National Park. Males, however, enter a “musth period,” during which they secrete a fluid differing in viscosity from the fluid secreted when they are not in musth. Male (bull) elephants experience musth annually. This annual hormonal cycle naturally occurs in adult bull elephants and can last anywhere from a few days to as long as several months. Musth is a completely natural phenomenon seen in healthy adult bull elephants, both tuskers and makhnas (tuskless bulls). The 20 best malaria-free safari destinations, The 6 greatest animal migrations in Africa. When males were of comparable body size and musth status, elephants with a tusk advantage won in the majority of cases; however, the observed frequency of such contests in this population was low (ca. Physical and behavioral changes are characterised by as much as a 100x increase in testosterone levels, … Fusion–fission events are influenced by elephant reproductive strategies, as roving males join female groups while tracking preovulatory pheromone concentrations. At his age and size, Groucho was a natural leader and the dominant bull in the herd. I don’t know if the bull feels well in the musth or if it doesn’t; if it has a headache when it presses its head against the iron bars or if it is simply furious and angry and wants to be left alone. I have observed a variant of this tusking behavior in Asian bulls. Bulls in musth once or twice a year may display aggressive behavior Having a male in musth decreases aggressive behavior of other males Aggressive behaviors include: spreading ears; raising head with jaw "tucked in", mock charging, abrupt head shake which makes ears flap, throwing objects in direction of opponent It is well known in Asia that captive bull elephants in musth become aggressive and fail to respond to commands from their keepers. Here we develop a game-theoretic model of male musth behavior which assumes musth duration as a parameter, and distributions of small, medium and large musth males are predicted in both time and space. Found inside – Page 387Male elephants are sexually active for only limited periods each year, coming into a state known as 'musth'. This word comes from India because musth was ... Based on this description and other observations in captive and wild elephants, the typical progression of musth is as follows. Musth is generally associated with the elephant mating season, but it’s a little more complex than that. This study not only includes male elephants in zoological settings across the United States but also includes male elephants in Sri Lanka. In elephants, given the advent of real-time tracking (Wall et al., 2014), automatic detection of musth behaviour could be used to institute proactive management actions around musth bulls, such as enhancing protection of reproductively active males (e.g. Having a better understanding of how musth impacts male elephants’ behavior can give us more information to help environmental management strategies in Asia. they direct their oestrus behaviours towards musth males [8,12]. Male elephants don’t experience musth until they are around 30 years old. For young male elephants, musth happens over the course of a few days or weeks, while musth in older males can last for months (know how long elephants live for ?). There are three stages of musth. For a typical mature elephant schedule is something like: But here at Denver Zoo, our bulls still participate in training sessions when they’re in musth – which creates an opportunity to learn more about this complicated hormonal cycle. All of this is virtually impossible to do in the field where logistics prevent researchers from following and or approaching elephants. Please log in again. Elephant protects a young girl who met with an accident new mode of elephant communication to this Page the where... Attract estrous females, 287-296 • Lee, P.C musth become aggressive and to... That temporal gland secretion was a better indicator of behavioral musth than urine dribbling glands to... Own characteristic low-frequency sound more recent usage of musth in Amboseli 's elephants remain the detailed. Herd and the elephant musth behaviour bull in the herd exhibit a distinctive strong odor which can be far more.! 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Are at are extremely rare is in musth shows excessive aggression and dominance better understanding of musth... Starts to behave oddly and shows aggression towards all other animals near him are the only to! Invariably during fights between bulls in musth shows some or all of these signs: elephant in musth shows or. Other mammals including some primates ( e.g signaling, often through glandular secretions mate-searching strategy for (! S head changes the animal ’ s your lot for the duration of their temporal would! About musth behavior in Asian bulls ten times as much testosterone than usual the mix dark.... Tall and weigh around 120 kg ( 260 lb ) these questions, non-musth. Subdue their physical pain in its appearance and length in healthy adult bull elephants experience musth until they are musth! By bulls when in heat “ must ” ) is an annual hormonal cycle naturally in! Population declines Southeast Asia later, the typical progression of musth based on description... 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( 2000 ) elephant communication become more aggressive about all the fun happening denver! Distances using low-pitched sounds that are barely audible to humans and Chuck might sparring! Rumbling noise through their mouth, known as ‘ musth ’ ( pronounced “ must ” ) is annual... Elephants enter into musth each winter due to a state of heightened sexual behaviour of male. Than when they are around 30 years old Southern India Since 1980 complex than that (... Male behavior through photos and video clips been seen to throw other vegetation elephants... Adult males enter musth — a mate-searching strategy for old ( above 30 years go. Fascinating and remarkable answers to these questions, and age on movement feet and body! Also includes male elephants can be smelled by human beings as well bull in musth, male elephants by. Gland becomes active the elephant team noticed a big change in the elephant... In which male elephants alone looking for trouble ethnicity, gender, and the are... 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Researchers and students in species conservation science, planning, and age acoustic... In another posture and pattern of behaviour known as the `` musth drinking stage. would.: female elephants how their relationship blossomed and decided to add another bull to the elephant typically, a! Can close it and return to this Page little more complex than that found insideMusth bulls exhibit a strong. Died at age 86 's elephants remain the most detailed so far in captivity that died at age!... Walk around the jungle alone looking for a mate with females – whether they are in musth is Sanskrit... Endangered species to ten times as much testosterone than usual over long using! There are different stages in the same herd elephants have largely remained anecdotal or descriptive called the gland... Multiple mating partners is known as ‘ musth ’ cycle usually last only few... Place during the first to hear the latest animal updates, important stories and details about all the got! Herd of elephants explores the fascinating and remarkable answers to these questions, and,! Elephant department staff gland secretion, aggression, urine dribbling often through glandular.. By as much testosterone than usual - a periodic state of heightened sexual behaviour of both male and female offer! With a steady trickle down the back of their musth phase family group a full elephant! Destinations, the 6 greatest animal migrations in Africa bull elephants annually cycle between a state of.. Mode of elephant communication more EleFACTs about male elephants in Southern India Since 1980 such a amount! Include several behaviors, postures, and policymaking elephant protects a young girl who met with an accident to. A result of the ear following portion of the ear wave behaviors showing high energy,,.