Do elephants "trunk" themselves (masturbate)?

Question

A few sources report that elephants use their trunks to masturbate. This practice, if it exists, is apparently called trunking,

Per todayilearned.co.uk,

This may not be the most useful piece of knowledge, but if you ever get to see an elephant doing this you would at least know what he is up to. Urban Dictionary calls it trunking. Don’t try to do it at home – you will break your back.

They provide some pictures of this practice, but I'm not sure if these are photoshopped.

Do elephants do this? Or, is this all fabricated and the pictures fake?

Answer 1

The answer is yes.

Every year male elephant face a period called Musth.

Musth is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants, characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones.[1]

There chances that to overcome the high level of testosterone, they might (ahem) "trunk" themselves.

Rare behavior caught on camera, if you ever get to see an elephant doing this you would at least know what he is up to. We were waiting about 50 m away as this musth bull elephant slowly walked towards our gypsy, flapping his ears and swinging his head. we were waiting for the bull to display unpredictable, dominant, and excitable behavior, but was amazed to see when he started pushing this huge tree and then walked few steps and stood across the road. Then his penis protruded out and he started to rub the tip of his penis under his own belly vigorously for about 20 to 30 seconds. And then automatically underwent in motion and postured as if he has climbed on top of a female and ejaculated.[3]

They even show homosexuality.

Homosexual behaviour is frequent in both sexes. As in heterosexual interactions, this involves mounting. Male elephants sometimes stimulate each other by playfighting and "championships" may form between old bulls and younger males. Female same-sex behaviours have been documented only in captivity where they are known to masturbate one another with their trunks[4][5]

_{(source: indianaturewatch.net)}

Source:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musth
2. PLASMA TESTOSTERONE LEVELS IN RELATION TO MUSTH AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY IN THE MALE ASIATIC ELEPHANT, ELEPHAS MAXIMUS
3. Caught in Act 1 - Masturbating Musth Elephant
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant
5. Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, by Bruce Bagemihl