Elephant Sunder gets a treat at end of musth

Jumbo surprise

The male elephant was fed an assortment of delicacies.

The male elephant was fed an assortment of delicacies.

A 20-year-old male elephant was treated to seasonal enrichment to mark the completion of its four-month-long musth period at the Bannerghatta Biological Park here on Thursday.

Musth is a periodic condition in bull elephants characterised by highly aggressive behaviour and a large rise in reproductive hormones (testosterone). During this period, elephants release a thick tar-like secretion temporin on the sides of the head. They become violent towards fellow elephants and other animals. Sundar, the elephant in question, was lodged in a spacious crawl with recreational facilities in the company of a female elephant. While the musth period normally lasts for three months, Sunder took almost four months to complete it.

Captive elephants are provided with seasonal enrichments in order to boost their cognitive abilities and motivate them to try the skills known to them naturally.

Vanashree Vipin Singh, Executive Director, BBP, said: “Sunder successfully completed the musth period, which was a bit longer. With the onset of winter and Deepavali, we gave it rice balls laced with jaggery, watermelon, banana, maize and carrot.”

Sunder was rescued by PETA from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, and rehabilitated at BBP. Currently, the BBP has 24 Asiatic elephants, many of them born in captivity, while a few others were rescued from temples.