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Elephants in musth fighting each other. Musth or must (from Persian, lit. ' intoxicated ') is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. It has been known in Asian elephants for 3000 years but was only described in African elephants in 1981.
A male African bush elephant skull on display at the Museum of Osteology. African elephants have grey folded skin up to 30 mm (1.2 in) thick that is covered with sparse, bristled dark-brown to black hair. Short tactile hair grows on the trunk, which has two finger-like processes at the tip, whereas Asian elephants only have one. [7]
Temporin has a communicative function among elephant individuals in a group. [1]: 101 In male elephants, temporin is secreted more during the period of musth, a period of heightened sexual arousal and dominance behavior. Of note, not all temporal gland excretions in African elephant bulls do necessarily represent the musth phase.
Male elephants can be quite sociable when not competing for mates and form vast and fluid social networks. [107] [108] Older bulls act as the leaders of these groups. [109] The presence of older males appears to subdue the aggression and "deviant" behaviour of younger ones. [110] The largest all-male groups can reach close to 150 individuals.
Footage filmed at Kruger National Park in South Africa from April 23, shows the lone elephant leaning his butt against the tree trunk and move side to side for a satisfactory scratch. The filmer ...
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Male 60-year-old elephants were considered the ideal age and gender for military service, as female elephants would retreat from aggressive male elephants in battle. Mahouts, or elephant trainers ...
Periods of musth are short and sporadic in young bulls up to 35 years old, lasting a few days to weeks. Older bulls are in musth for 2–5 months every year. Musth occurs mainly during and following the rainy season when females are in estrus. [57] Bulls in musth often chase each other and are aggressive towards other bulls in musth.