Elephant musth - The complete guide - Fascinating Africa

Elephants mate when a male is in musth and a female is in estrous, which occurs every 4.5 years. Musth is a period of heightened aggression and sexual activity in males, usually experienced by the time they are 30 years old. Females greatly prefer older males, so younger male elephants have few opportunities to mate. During mating, a female elephant will emit a call that is joined by the rumbling and trumpeting of her family and other nearby individuals. This phenomenon is called the mating pand