Tusks, testosterone and personality in male Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).

Abstract

Male Asian elephants exhibit phenotypic diversity in tusk development, with long, short and tuskless bulls varying in frequency among different populations. Although the factors that maintain tusk variation in Asian elephants remain unclear, tusks are considered a secondary sexual characteristic probably influenced by sexual selection. In this study, we examined the relationship between tusk diversity, faecal testosterone metabolite (FTM) and personality in male Asian elephants aged 5-60 years living in semi-captive conditions within their native habitat in Myanmar. Males with different tusk types did not display differences in FTM levels or in scores for the three main personality factors, but there were some distinctions in the trait loadings within each factor: attentiveness, activity and dominance loaded more strongly for long-tusk males, while traits like obedience, slowness and aggression showed stronger associations in short-tusk males. Our study suggests that the differences between long- and short-tusk males in testosterone levels and personality traits were, respectively, negligible and nuanced, emphasizing the complexity of tusk expression and evolution in Asian elephants.