Elephants in musth often discharge a thick tar-like secretion called temporin from the temporal ducts on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Wild bulls in musth often produce a characteristic low, pulsating rumbling noise (known as “musth rumble”) which can be heard by other elephants for considerable distances. The rumble has been shown to prompt attraction and reply vocalizations from cows in heat, but silent avoidance behaviour from other bulls (particularly juveniles) and non-receptive females, suggesting an evolutionary benefit to advertising the musth state.
Info source URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musth
