Musth

Imagining how a civilization might develop with musth is interesting: it seems biologically antisocial, like periodic insanity. Would there be pressure to self-regulate? Ostracism during that time? Evolutionary selection against musth?

It feels like there's an analogous suspicion and fear of human men as well, similarly peaking for adolescent humans, like adolescent elephants, who are least able to self-regulate. But the fears would be much stronger in elephants, and so acute since musth is temporary and outwardly visible.

If not ostracism, what social pressure could be applied via punishment? Elephants' scale would require different approaches: for instance, I don't believe any number of elephants could work together to lift another elephant. Elephants would have a degree of physical autonomy that, while not unbounded, would be greater than humans: they can hurt each other, but not subdue except through threat. And if you are crazy on hormones a threat might not be enough!

English Wikipedia, first content paragraph after lead section:

> "Although it has often been speculated by zoo visitors[2] that musth is linked to rut, it is unlikely there is a biological connection because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked, whereas musth most often takes place in winter. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat."

German Wikipedia, first content paragraph after lead section (my own translation):

> "Bull elephants reach puberty at about the same age as humans, which can last until the end of the second decade of life. The periodic interval of Musth, its intensity and duration can vary greatly from bull elephant to bull elephant. The duration ranges from a few weeks to several, in extreme cases up to nine months. In most cases, the first Musth lasts significantly shorter in individuals, in older animals the average is two to three months. Some bulls come in Musth once a year, others more frequently. There is no preferred season, so Musth bulls can appear all year round. This is a clear difference to the rutting season of various hoofed animals, which is partly seasonally bound and thus synchronized within a population."

It goes on to describe the phases of Musth. From what I understand from the rest of the German article it is basically the rut of elephants except that it does not occur seasonally. Not everything is known about it but it is well researched. In India it is culturally relevant.

Fascinating.

which makes the case that human adolescents, like elephants, benefit from having older males around. Maybe of interest.