Why does the beast charge at the sight of red?

PROF WAQAR HUSSAIN

 

          Bullfighting didn’t originate in Spain as many people think today. It is probably for the reason of too much attachment of the country with bullfighting. The sport got birth in ancient Mesopotamia and the areas around the Mediterranean. Greece and Rome got into the act not long after, and both often practice sacrificing their animal.

 

           In bullfighting, an angry, irritated and annoyed bull charges at a matador’s small red cape, the muleta.  Why does the beast charge at the sight of red?

It is a mistaken misconception; actually, bulls like all other cattle, are colour blind to red. In fact, the bull is irritated not by the muleta’s colour, but by the cape’s movement as the matador whips it around.

             In proof of above statement, a research conducted by Discovery Channel in 2007 is presented below. In the program, three live tests were shown depicting the choice of bull between colour and movement in three different experiments.

              In First experiment, three stationary flags of red, blue and white were placed in the bull’s enclosure. The bull charged on all the three flags regardless of colour.

               In Second experiment, three dummies dressed in red, blue and white were placed in the ring. The bull charged on all the three dummies irrespective of colour. Astonishingly, the bull charged the red dummy last.

                In Third experiment, three live persons were stationed in the ring; one person dressed in red stood still while two cowboys, dressed in other colour but not red, moved around the ring. The bull attacked the moving cowboys and left the immobile person wearing red clothing. Conclusion is crystal clear, bull irritated by the movement and not by the colour.

           Now the question arises, why is the muleta red? It is a concealing tactic; the small cape comes out in the last stage of the bullfight, when the bull meets its end, and its colour helps mask one of the horrible aspects of bullfighting: s of the bull's blood.