The Sexually Active States Of Free-ranging Male African Elephants. (2005)

Musth in male African elephants, Loxodonta africana, is associated with increased aggressive behavior, continuous discharge of urine, copious secretions from the swollen temporal glands, and elevated androgen levels. During musth, bulls actively seek out and are preferred estrous females although sexual activity is not restricted to the musth condition. The present study combines recently established methods fecal hormone analysis with long-term observations on male-female associations as well as the presence and intensity of physical signals to provide a more detailed picture about the physical, physiological, and behavioral characteristics of different states of sexual activity in free ranging African elephants.