Bullfighting is one of the best known images that the world has of Spanish cultures. Gruesome as the sport is, it has also given the world a very common myth-that bulls charge at the sight of the color red. In fact, so common is the belief that bull would charge at the color that kids around the worlds are dissuaded from wearing the color when they visit a farm or live in an area where cattle roam free. We debunk the myth behind the outrageously stereotypical belief.
Bulls are colorblind
All cattle, including bulls, are color blind. That means that they cannot tell if someone is waving a red muleta or a blue one. And that is a big reason why you don’t see bulls charging at a field full of ripe tomatoes or at farm vehicles that are painted red.
Bulls would charge at the sight of any perceived threat
Bulls are temperamental beasts. They are naturally aggressive and are known to charge at any perceived threat in their range of vision. It’s a natural instinct. In a bullfighting arena, bulls charge at the matador’ muleta or their capotes not because they are red in color but because they are infuriated with the way the matador furls them around. And that is the reason why cleverer bulls often end up impaling the matador on their horns instead of simply chasing the waving muletas round after round.
The muleta is symbolic of the bloodshed in a bullfight
The myth of bulls charging at the color red comes from the ancient “sport” of bullfighting. And that is exactly where we find the most logical reason for the existence of the nonsensical belief- in bullfighting, the muleta is colored red because the animal is supposed to be killed at the last stage and having the cape in the same color as the beasts’ blood makes the sport appear less gruesome and barbaric than it actually is.
