By Susan Milius
When testosterone begins spiking in young Asian bull elephants, they secrete a liquid from their facial glands that smells like honey, says an international team of researchers.
Ancient Hindu poetry referred to bees gathering “sweetness” from elephants, but a paper in the Feb. 28 Nature represents the first scientific description of the phenomenon and its possible function, says coauthor L.E.L. Rasmussen of Oregon Health and Science University in Beaverton.