Editing Elephant (section)

===Sexual behaviour===
====Musth====
{{Main|Musth}}
[[File:2005-tusker-musth-crop.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Indian elephant bull in musth]]
Adult males enter a state of increased [[testosterone]] known as [[musth]]. In a population in southern India, males first enter musth at 15 years old, but it is not very intense until they are older than 25. At Amboseli, no bulls under 24 were found to be in musth, while half of those aged 25–35 and all those over 35 were. In some areas, there may be seasonal influences on the timing of musths. The main characteristic of a bull's musth is a fluid discharged from the [[Temporin|temporal gland]] that runs down the side of his face. Behaviours associated with musth include walking with a high and swinging head, nonsynchronous ear flapping, picking at the ground with the tusks, marking, rumbling, and urinating in the [[penile sheath|sheath]]. The length of this varies between males of different ages and conditions, lasting from days to months.<ref name=Sukumar100 />

Males become extremely aggressive during musth. Size is the determining factor in [[Agonistic behaviour|agonistic]] encounters when the individuals have the same condition. In contests between musth and non-musth individuals, musth bulls win the majority of the time, even when the non-musth bull is larger. A male may stop showing signs of musth when he encounters a musth male of higher rank. Those of equal rank tend to avoid each other. Agonistic encounters typically consist of threat displays, chases, and minor sparring. Rarely do they full-on fight.<ref name=Sukumar100>Sukumar, pp. 100–08.</ref> 

There is at least one documented case of [[Infanticide (zoology)|infanticide]] among Asian elephants at Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, with the researchers describing it as most likely normal behaviour among aggressive musth elephants.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wanghongsa |first1=Sawai |last2=Boonkird |first2=Kalyanee |title=On the incident of infanticide in wild elephants |journal=Wildlife Yearbook |date=2006 |volume=7 |pages=111–119}}</ref>

====Mating====
[[File:Elephantsmating.jpg|thumb|African elephant bull mating with a member of a female group]]
Elephants are [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]] breeders,<ref>Sukumar, p. 89.</ref> and most [[Copulation (zoology)|copulations]] occur during rainfall.<ref name="Sukumar, p. 262">Sukumar, p. 262.</ref> An oestrous cow uses [[pheromone]]s in her urine and vaginal secretions to signal her readiness to mate. A bull will follow a potential mate and assess her condition with the [[flehmen response]], which requires him to collect a chemical sample with his trunk and taste it with the [[vomeronasal organ]] at the roof of the mouth.<ref>Sukumar, pp. 98–99.</ref> The oestrous cycle of a cow lasts 14–16 weeks, with the [[follicular phase]] lasting 4–6 weeks and the [[luteal phase]] lasting 8–10 weeks. While most mammals have one surge of [[luteinizing hormone]] during the follicular phase, elephants have two. The first (or anovulatory) surge, appears to change the female's scent, signaling to males that she is in heat, but [[ovulation]] does not occur until the second (or ovulatory) surge.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elephant Reproduction Project: The Estrous Cycle of Elephants|publisher=Smithsonian National Zoo|access-date=8 October 2012|url=http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/ReproductiveScience/ElephantBreedRepro/EstrousCycle.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606110832/http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/ReproductiveScience/ElephantBreedRepro/EstrousCycle.cfm|archive-date=6 June 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Cows over 45–50 years of age are less fertile.<ref name=Kingdon53 />

Bulls engage in a behaviour known as mate-guarding, where they follow oestrous females and defend them from other males.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Poole Joyce H | s2cid = 53150105 | year = 1989 | title = Mate guarding, reproductive success and female choice in African elephants | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222028670 | format = PDF | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 37 | pages = 842–849 | doi = 10.1016/0003-3472(89)90068-7 | access-date = 24 October 2018 | archive-date = 24 October 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181024231940/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222028670 | url-status = live }}</ref> Most mate-guarding is done by musth males, and females seek them out, particularly older ones.<ref>Sukumar, p. 113.</ref> Musth appears to signal to females the condition of the male, as weak or injured males do not have normal musths.<ref>Sukumar, p. 117.</ref> For young females, the approach of an older bull can be intimidating, so her relatives stay nearby for comfort.<ref name=Shoshani106 /> During copulation, the male rests his trunk on the female.<ref>Kingdon, p. 69.</ref> The penis is mobile enough to move without the pelvis.<ref name="FowlerMikota2006">{{cite book|author1=Murray E. Fowler|author2=Susan K. Mikota|title=Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of Elephants|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oCpiZA61tyQC|year=2006|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-8138-0676-1|page=353|access-date=17 October 2020|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321084756/https://books.google.com/books?id=oCpiZA61tyQC&q=elephant+penis+mating&pg=PA353|url-status=live}}</ref> Before mounting, it curves forward and upward. Copulation lasts about 45 seconds and does not involve [[pelvic thrust]]ing or an ejaculatory pause.<ref name=Estes>{{cite book|author=Estes, R.|title=The behavior guide to African mammals: including hoofed mammals, carnivores, primates|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/263 263–266]|year=1991|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-08085-0}}</ref>

[[Homosexual behavior in animals#Elephants|Homosexual behaviour]] has been observed in both sexes. As in heterosexual interactions, this involves mounting. Male elephants sometimes stimulate each other by playfighting, and "championships" may form between old bulls and younger males. Female same-sex behaviours have been documented only in captivity, where they engage in [[Animal sexual behaviour#Autoeroticism or masturbation|mutual masturbation]] with their trunks.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bagemihl, B.|year=1999|title=Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity|url=https://archive.org/details/biologicalexuber00bage|url-access=registration|publisher=St. Martin's Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/biologicalexuber00bage/page/427 427–430]|isbn=978-1-4668-0927-7}}</ref>