Unusual behaviour in animals, and our pets

Two Elephants Fight During Thrissur 'Pooram' Festival, 3 Persons Injured​


Two elephants turned violent and fought each other in Thrissur during a Pooram festival. They were brought for Arattupuzha pooram. But during the festival, one of the elephants went berserk and started to attack the elephant standing next to it. The incident happened around 10.30 pm on Friday. The festival was proceeding without any incidents initially while the tusker ran amok when the festival was about to conclude. In a sudden development, one elephant pricked another elephant with its tusk.

Later, the second tusker retaliated and the two elephants got engaged in a fierce fight. They ran towards the nearby bridge. Seeing the elephants fighting, many of the people who had come to see the Pooram ran for their lives and tried to escape from the spot. Three people were injured in the incident. The elephants were tamed after sometime by the members of the elephant squad present at the spot.

At a religious festival in India on Friday night, chaos erupted as two elephants engaged in a fight before turning on worshippers at the Tharakkal Hindu temple in Thrissur. The elephants then charged through the crowd, causing injuries to dozens of attendees who were trying to escape the scene.
 

Two Elephants Fight During Thrissur 'Pooram' Festival, 3 Persons Injured​


Two elephants turned violent and fought each other in Thrissur during a Pooram festival. They were brought for Arattupuzha pooram. But during the festival, one of the elephants went berserk and started to attack the elephant standing next to it. The incident happened around 10.30 pm on Friday. The festival was proceeding without any incidents initially while the tusker ran amok when the festival was about to conclude. In a sudden development, one elephant pricked another elephant with its tusk.

Later, the second tusker retaliated and the two elephants got engaged in a fierce fight. They ran towards the nearby bridge. Seeing the elephants fighting, many of the people who had come to see the Pooram ran for their lives and tried to escape from the spot. Three people were injured in the incident. The elephants were tamed after sometime by the members of the elephant squad present at the spot.


This may well be a normal case of 2 male elephants being in Musth.
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What is musth?
Musth is a completely natural phenomenon seen in healthy adult bull elephants, both tuskers and makhnas (tuskless bulls). Generally characterised by the secretion of a hormone rich substance called temporin from the temporal gland (on either side of the elephant’s head) and a steady trickle of urine down the back legs of the elephant, musth involves a rise in the reproductive hormones in the elephant’s body. This causes the animal to feel more restless, energetic, aggressive or unpredictable – and generally irritable and oversensitive to sounds and movements. Musth is seen in healthy adult bull elephants.

How long does musth last? Is the length and duration of musth a sign of health?
Musth is a natural and healthy phenomenon in adult bull elephants. If a bull elephant goes into musth, it is generally considered a sign that he is healthy. Musth typically lasts between 2-3 months and occurs in three stages – a 3-4 week premusth condition, a 4-5 week peak musth, and a 4-5 week post-musth condition.

For elephants in captivity though, the condition and its duration can vary greatly. Deprivation of food and nutrition can cause the elephant to go into musth less frequently and for shorter durations of time. For bull elephants that have easy access to nutritious food and are in good health, musth can last much longer – records of healthy bulls in captivity have shown them staying in musth for more than a year.

 
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