Musth is a periodic hormonal state in male elephants associated with elevated testosterone, aggression, and reproductive competition. Understanding musth is essential for managing both wild and captive elephant welfare and human safety.
Musth is a natural physiological state that, in wild populations, is regulated by complex social dynamics including suppression by older bulls. Removal of older bulls through poaching or culling disrupts this regulation, resulting in uncontrolled musth in young males linked to heightened aggression and welfare consequences. In captivity, bulls in musth may require isolation that itself causes welfare harm from social deprivation. Chemical suppression of musth in captive elephants carries hormonal welfare implications. Wild elephant welfare is best protected by preserving natural population age structures that allow social regulation of musth cycles to function normally.