Bullfighting is one of the most popular and controversial customs in Spain. People flock by the thousands to see a bullfighter (matador) wave his red cape (muleta) in front of a snorting bull, who appears to see the red cape and charge angrily towards it.
source/image: Sky One
Because bulls are herd animals and naturally social, the isolation they face prior to an even can also contribute to their aggression. They are alone in the ring surrounded by humans, who end up essentially harassing the bull.
In its natural setting in the presence of other cattle, bulls show less aggression.Bulls, it should be noted, are not provoked by the color red.These animals are in fact color-blind, and instead are enticed to charge by the motion of a person or object.
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Bulls, along with all other cattle, are color-blind to red. Thus, the bull is likely irritated not by the muleta’s color, but by the cape’s movement as the matador whips it around.In support of this is the fact that a bull charges the matador’s other cape — the larger capote — with equal fury. Yet this cape is magenta on one side and gold or blue on the other.
