Causes Of Musth

Musth is a naturally occuring period of change for a bull elephant, they produce 40 to 60 times more testosterone than usual and are extremely aggressive. Although musth is more common in Asian elephants it also occurs to elephant bulls in Africa. A male elephant is likely to experience musth for the first time at age of 30, it’s more dangerous in older elephants than the younger ones. The physical symptoms include swollen temple, swollen trunk base, an oily liquid coming out of temple glands, sweat and dripping urine. There are also mental symptoms such as autistic behaviour, aggressive outbursts and not reacting to familiar commands of the keeper. Additionally, this stage in the animal’s life can last for weeks or months. An elephant