December 23, 2005
THE aggressive sexual activity of Asian elephants could be a key to understanding the human sixth sense, according to new research to be published this week in the international science journal Nature. Male Asian elephants are famed for their annual bouts of heightened sexual activity and aggression, called "musth", during which they produce a notoriously pungent cocktail of chemicals to advertise their mating status, the researchers said.
The jury is out on whether humans have the ability to communicate using pheromones but the research into elephants is considered a significant step forward in the understanding of this signalling in mammals.
The researchers found that more mature males impress females by including a balance of different versions of a particular pheromone called frontalin, which exists in two molecular "mirror-image" forms. "We found the frontalin is released by the elephants in specific ratios that depend on the animal's age and stage of musth," Mr Greenwood said.
Mr Greenwood, honorary associate professor at Auckland University's School of Biological Science, said the exact chemical blend of the pheromone emitted by older male elephants influenced both a female elephant's interest in mating and how other surrounding elephants behave.
"We were certainly surprised by the results. This is the first example, in mammals, of the use of this very precise signalling and ratio of chemical compounds in signalling.
"All of the responses to the pheromone are such as trumpeting, running away, circling are translatable at the basic level to other animals including humans."
The study, conducted by New Zealander Dave Greenwood and Elizabeth Rasmussen of the Oregon Heath and Sciences University, focussed on the ways animals signal to each other.