Effects of rainfall, host demography, and musth on strongyle fecal egg counts in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Namibia.

The sexually active states of free-ranging male African elephants (Loxodonta africana): defining musth and non-musth using endocrinology, physical signals, and behavior.

Musth in male African elephants, Loxodonta africana, is associated with increased aggressive behavior, continuous discharge of urine, copious secretions from the swollen temporal glands, and elevated androgen levels. During musth, bulls actively seek out and are preferred by estrous females although sexual activity is not restricted to the musth condition. The present study combines recently es...

Endocrine correlates of musth and the impact of ecological and social 1 factors in free - ranging African elephants ( Loxodonta africana )

Genetic identification of five strongyle nematode parasites in wild african elephants (Loxodonta africana).

African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) are an ecologically and economically important species in many African habitats. However, despite the importance of elephants, research on their parasites is limited, especially in wild populations. Currently, we lack genetic tools to identify elephant parasites. We present genetic markers from ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to...

Role of musth in the reproductive strategy of the African elephant (Loxodonta a/ricana)

Behavioural and endrocrin%gical data on African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are integrated to provide a hypothesis oj the adaptations reflected in the phenomenon of musth in bulls. Occupation oj home ranges, movements. male dominance hierarchies and intra-specific agonistic behaviour are reviewed. Bulls in musth leave their home range, travel far and jast, initiate more contacts with distant...

Chemosignalling of musth by individual wild African elephants (Loxodonta africana): implications for conservation and management.

Elephants have extraordinary olfactory receptive equipment, yet this sensory system has been only minimally investigated in wild elephants. We present an in-depth study of urinary chemical signals emitted by individual, behaviourally characterized, wild male African elephants, investigating whether these compounds were the same, accentuated, or diminished in comparison with captive individuals....