musth

1 9.9

A regular time when male elephants become very aggressive and look for mates

noun
/mʌsθ/

Specialized

: musth

Male elephants famously go through periods of heightened aggression and sexual activity called musth.
musth bull
musth elephant
go into musth

Examples

Smokey was named after the Oakland Zoo's musth bull because he was the first musth bull we documented at Mushara.

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Smokey was named after the Oakland Zoo's musth bull because he was the first musth bull we documented at Mushara.

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But something dramatic happened when researchers introduced six mature male elephants to the park: the young guns dropped out of musth, stopped terrorizing rhinoceroses, and presumably went back to being the elephant equivalent of nice young men.

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During musth, male elephants display increased aggression and search diligently for mates.
A dominant elephant in musth emits a strong scent that attracts females from long distances.
The signs of musth in a bull include aggressive behavior and a distinct hormonal discharge.

Surface Forms

musth singular

musths plural

Etymology

Musth comes from the Hindi and Urdu word mast, which means 'drunk' or 'intoxicated'. So think of a bull elephant 'drunk' on hormones: in musth he has a very strong sexual drive and often becomes aggressive, which is why the word means this state today.