Musth is a periodic condition in adult male elephants characterised by elevated testosterone, temporal gland secretion, and highly aggressive behaviour — with significant welfare implications for both wild and captive elephants.
For wild elephants, musth is an evolved reproductive strategy, but the suffering it entails — fight injuries, nutritional stress, exhaustion — is real. In fragmented habitats where dispersal is limited, young bulls unable to outcompete musth males may face prolonged exclusion and associated stress. For captive elephants, the welfare implications are more severe: facilities unable to manage musth bulls safely resort to prolonged chaining or isolation that causes psychological and physical harm. The underlying problem is that captivity cannot provide the range and social complexity needed for appropriate musth expression. Welfare-responsible facilities plan for musth with appropriate containment that does not involve prolonged physical restriction.