The sexually active states of free-ranging male African elephants (Loxodonta africana): defining musth and non-musth using endocrinology, physical signals, and behavior
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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 by estrous females although sexual activity is not restricted to the musth condition. The present study combines recently established methods of 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. Based on quantitative shifts in individual bull association patterns, the presence of different physical signals, and significant differences in androgen levels, a total of three potential sub-categories for sexually active bulls could be established. The results demonstrate that elevations in androgen levels are only observed in sexually active animals showing temporal gland secretion and/or urine dribbling, but are not related to the age of the individual. Further, none of the sexually active states showed elevated glucocorticoid output indicating that musth does not represent an HPA-mediated stress condition. On the basis of these results, we suggest that the term "musth" should be exclusively used for the competitive state in sexually active male elephants and that the presence of urine dribbling should be the physical signal used for defining this state.
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Previous studies have reported that high-ranking musth males can suppress musth in lower-ranking males.
“Previous studies have reported that high-ranking musth males can suppress musth in lower-ranking males [21,57,58].”
From Socializing a group of male Asian elephants in a semi-captive facility in Lao PDR (2025) · cites this paper as [58]
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Feromony - unikalny język świata przyrody
Antkiewicz, M. M., Dziurdzia, A., Sochaj, A. M., & Mika, M. (2008)
- Authors
- Ganswindt, A., Rasmussen, H. B., Heistermann, M., & Hodges, J. K.
- Affiliations
- German Primate Center (DE)
- Save the Elephants (KE)
- Corresponding author
- Ganswindt, André
- ORCID
- Ganswindt, André
- Venue
- Hormones and Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-01
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 83-91
- ISSN
- 0018-506X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2170998831
- Cited by
- 115
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 4.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Hormones and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Nelson Mandela University Research Repository (submittedVersion)
- GoeScholar The Publication Server of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- International Elephant Foundation
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
- Keywords
- musth, Loxodonta africana, male sexual activity, androgen levels, fecal hormone analysis, glucocorticoids, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, male-female association, physical signals, aggression, free-ranging elephants
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Androsterone, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Competitive Behavior, Elephants, Feces, Female, Hydrocortisone, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Testosterone
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