Musth — a periodic hormonal state in male elephants characterised by elevated testosterone and aggressive behaviour — presents major welfare and safety challenges in zoo settings. Understanding and managing musth appropriately is essential for elephant welfare and keeper safety.
Musth management in zoo elephants sits at a difficult intersection of animal welfare and human safety. Confinement during musth — the most common management approach — restricts movement, social interaction, and environmental access for a period that can last months in older males. This welfare cost is real: adult male elephants need exercise, enrichment, and appropriate social contact, and prolonged restriction exacerbates frustration and may increase aggressive behaviour. The alternative — attempting to manage a musth male in full access settings — creates unacceptable safety risks for keepers who have died in musth-related attacks. The welfare-centred management approach minimises confinement through enrichment provision within restricted space, maintains some social visual and olfactory contact with the herd, and carefully monitors male condition throughout. Hormonal intervention to suppress musth raises welfare questions about interfering with normal reproductive physiology and requires veterinary justification.