The belief that bulls hate the color red is quite common, especially due to the use of this color during bullfights, an event as old as sad that takes place in Spain and other countries. Bullfighting is an obvious case of animal abuse , as animals are injured time after time until, in most cases, they die.
The red is supposedly used to "anger" or "provoke" the animal. However, have you been wondering to what extent this statement is true? Do you want to know why bulls hate the color red? Then you can't miss this article on our site.
The bull
The bull (Bos primigenius taurus) is a quadrupedal mammal belonging to the bovid family. It is characterized by its short hair, stocky body, and two prominent horns that protrude from its head. It is a herbivorous animal that can weigh more than a ton and measure up to half a meter in length. Together with their companion, the cow, they are the most popular mammals for farming on farms.
The bull has also been used for centuries as the main attraction in bullfights, increasingly unpopular in the world for the cruelty they represent. During these bullfights, the bull is made dizzy with the help of a red cape, the objective is to kill the animal through a thrust to the heart.
Thanks to these bullfights, the idea has spread that these mammals hate the color red, but how much truth is there? Here we tell you…
Is it true that bulls hate the color red?
A lot has been said about it. There is a popular belief that these animals do not appreciate the color red at all, but How did this myth originate?
As we have already explained, this animal is used in bullfighting events In this practice, the bullfighter stands in front of the bull moving a red capote (a rigid cape about one hundred and ten centimeters long). The idea is that the bull charges the capote repeatedly while the bullfighter tries to dodge it; finally, he kills him with certain tools used in this activity. It is said that the bull attacks the red cloth because it does not tolerate that color, but the truth is that bulls do not mind red
Likewise, the color red does not influence their behavior either. So why ram the cape? The answer is quite simple: they do it because the object attracts your attention when it shakes, especially when you feel confused in the sand, with excess noise around you. around.
Aggressiveness is also influenced by genetics, since a very exhaustive genetic selection is made for the breeding of the fighting bull, in which the most "brave" specimens are taken into account for reproduction.
Why do bulls charge?
Now, if the bull charges the capote because of the movement and not because of the color, what causes this violent reaction?
This species is incapable of capturing smooth or slow movements, although it does perceive sudden and rapid movements In addition, by instinct, it associates these moves to danger, so a cloth waving violently in front of his eyes elicits a strong reaction, causing to face the stimulus
How do bulls perceive colors?
In case you didn't know, bulls are able to perceive different colors, however, they don't differentiate them in the same way as bulls. humans. What they do have is vision developed enough to see the world clearly. Thanks to this they can calculate distances and distinguish reliefs.
Despite this, bulls are myopic, making it difficult for them to observe things that are far away and appreciate details. Regarding the perception of tones, bulls have two types of cones, unlike humans who have three types. This means that bulls perceive long to medium wave colors, which are orange, red, yellow, and greenish-yellow; however, they cannot distinguish shortwave tones, such as blue, gray, and some types of green.
Likewise, bulls have the third eyelid, also known as the tapetum lucidum. This tissue is located at the back of the eye and is responsible for capturing light from outside, increasing the capacity of the photoreceptors and, therefore, improving vision in low light conditions. For this reason, in addition, the bull's eyes shine if an intense light is pointed at it in the middle of the night, the effect is the product of this fabric.
To finish we leave you with a photograph of Cristopher Thomas, who assures that he bought a fighting bull to show the world that they are not aggressiveWe don't know if his partner Fadjen is really fighting or not, however, what is clear is that they have a magnificent relationship.
