Bull (cattle). Do Bulls Really Hate Red? Why does a bull react to a red rag
Bullfighting is a magnificent spectacular spectacle, like a pagan dance, so religious and at the same time aggressive, filled with beauty and grace, but cruel and bloody. Thousands of people freeze in anticipation of an amazing performance and their hearts begin to beat in the same rhythm - after all, the culmination of this performance is death.
Here two rivals appear in the arena - a man and a bull. Another second, and a dangerous duel should begin between a beautiful, powerful, courageous and proud animal, symbolizing primitive instincts, life's difficulties, hardships and everything dark that exists in life, and a torero dressed in a magnificent, reflecting the rays of the sun, snow-white "suit Sveta".
All spectators watch with bated breath the dangerous deadly duel of two symbolic forces - darkness and light, where a man masterfully evades the bull's blows with the help of a bright red muleta (a piece of cloth attached to a stick), which provokes the bull and hides the silhouette of the matador, and the obligatory culmination will be the victory of the magnificent bullfighter and the death of the bull.
Spectators of the bullfight are convinced that it is the red color that drives the bull into an uncontrollable rage and nothing can convince them of this - these are the traditions. But every bullfighter knows that bulls are color blind by nature and do not distinguish colors, and the red muleta is just a tribute to tradition and a way to capture the attention of the stands excited by this magnificent spectacle.
The mammalian eye consists of two types of photoreceptors - cones, which allow us to distinguish colors, and rods, which allow us to see the size and shape of objects. In humans and primates, the number of cones in the retina is very large, which allows them to distinguish colors. But colors in the life of ungulates are not of great importance, and mother nature has deprived the eyes of these animals, as an element unnecessary for them, of the number of cones that allow you to distinguish colors.
Why does a bull in a bullfight rush all the same to a red muleta? The thing is that for bullfighting, special bulls of the El Toro Bravo breed (translated as “brave bull”) are grown, which are especially aggressive, angry, mobile, but do not differ in special intelligence, are stupid and therefore predictable in a duel with a torero, which very important.
And here comes the climax - in the arena, the dexterous matador plays the last deadly game with the angry bull with the help of a red muleta, which, with its movement, brings the bull into an indescribable rage. The viewer freezes, watching every movement of the scarlet muleta, which is visible even on the last rows of the amphitheater. The flickering of red matter and the fury of the animal lead the viewer into indescribable delight - they crave the climax of the action, the viewer is waiting for the blood that is about to spill!
The red color of the material on the muleta is just a clever trick that brings the crowd of spectators into such ecstasy, makes the spectacle bright and memorable. And the bull does not care what color the muleta is - blue, red, yellow or white - he still does not distinguish colors, but only the frantic movement of matter and the crazy howl of the stands drunk on the bloody spectacle irritates him.
You have probably seen how in cartoons they wave a red rag in front of a bull? To which the bull begins to get angry, dig the ground with his hoof, and in the end, putting his horns forward, rushes to this very rag. Or watched on TV, (and who was lucky and live), the Spanish bullfight. When all the same things actually happen. Then everything looks even more impressive. A fearless bullfighter is waving a stick with a red cloak thrown over it in front of a bull. But when he runs to the rag, the bullfighter will have time to dodge at the last moment. And yet, why do bulls dislike red so much?
In fact, the bulls absolutely do not care what color the rag is waved in front of them.. All bulls are colorblind. But what then drives the bulls into such a frenzy? The answer is simple: the movement of the muleta fabric (this is the stick with the red cloak). In the movement of the rag bulls, perhaps. They see some kind of danger and threat. They are annoyed by any movement in general - they perceive both a person and a rag as potential enemies. Therefore, if you suddenly find yourself next to a bull, it is better to stop and freeze so as not to become a victim of his furious attack.
Interesting fact: Spectacular presentation of bullfighting will not end with success with every bull. A special breed of bulls is grown for her. It is called "el toro bravo", which translates as "brave". Bulls of this breed grow up aggressive, fast, angry, but far from sparkling with intelligence. Each of their steps is easy to predict, which is an important part of the presentation. It is possible that with a bull of a different breed, the bullfight ended in tears or did not take place at all.
What is red used for then?
The red color of the canvas is a cunning trick that managed to deceive a lot of people. It adds a lot of spectacle to the show. Agree, everything would not look so bright and exciting if the rag was white, green or yellow.. On the other hand, the red color attracts the attention of the audience more strongly, setting them up in advance for the danger of bloodshed. So the audience is more worried about the bullfighter and is more rejoicing and surprised when he was once again able to defeat the ferocious bull.
Now you know that the bull is not irritated in any way by the red color, and he is furious only from the persistent movement of the stick in the hands of the master of his craft. I hope the article was informative and interesting, and you have one less inexplicable riddle!
When in conversation someone wishes to emphasize a vivid form of a person's dislike for something, it is often said that "it annoys him like the red color of a bull."
Everyone is accustomed to the fact that the red color, to put it mildly, does not set the bulls in a benevolent mood, but the animals themselves would be very surprised by this integral feature of their character.
And if someone does not believe in this, then let him read this article.
Aggression is not just a mood for the bull or just one of many character traits. For any self-respecting bull, aggression is something of a life credo.
As early as two years of age, young bulls tend to show spontaneous outbursts of rage. It would seem that for such a powerful animal as a bull that eats by nibbling grass, there is no point in showing rage, but this is so, and we will now understand the reasons for such behavior.
Why does everyone think that bulls are aggressive towards red, maybe vice versa - they strive for it?
The reason for bullish aggressiveness lies in the genes of the bull, which he inherited from his ancestors. And the ancestors of this cattle clearly did not belong to the number of insignificant animals, being not just anyone, but ancient wild aurochs. This animal was much larger than the current cows and bulls and weighed about a ton, being also armed with mighty horns and an almost impenetrable skin. Once the tours abundantly inhabited the forest-steppes and forests throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor.
The huge size and aggressive behavior allowed the aurochs to keep predators at a considerable distance from their herds, and besides, it was useful during mating tournaments, reinforcing the fighting spirit of the fighters.
In general, it must be said that aggressive behavior is much more often demonstrated by herbivores than predators, especially if they are large ungulates. In the modern world, it is generally accepted that predators are the most dangerous among the inhabitants of the forest, but this is not true.
Predators show aggression mostly towards those who are part of their diet. And to everyone else who is not included in it, including a person, they are indifferent, and, as from everything that is not interesting to them, they prefer to stay away. The most that can cause, for example, a person in, for example, a wolf is fear or irritation, which in most cases ends in the flight of the animal.
But herbivores are a completely different matter: having a large number of enemies and living in large herds, they are used to fighting off a large number of people who want to feast on their flesh every day and therefore were forced to give a tough rebuff. This was well known to the ancient hunters, who considered the most dangerous inhabitants of the forest, not wolves and not lynxes, and not even bears, but namely huge ferocious aurochs and no less ferocious wild boars and elks. But, unfortunately, the aggressiveness, which helped the aurochs so much in “contacts” with other animals, turned out to be useless in “communication” with humans.
Thanks to hunting and deforestation, as well as thanks to the idea of \u200b\u200banimals as soulless and dangerous creatures that should be exterminated in order to protect the life of the "crown of creation", the tours were completely exterminated by the seventeenth century. And in Africa and Asia Minor, it was exterminated even earlier. However, despite the disappearance of this beautiful animal, the soul of its ancient wild relative still lives in every modern domestic bull.
The fighting nature of the bull has long been used by people so that applicants for the title of alpha male can flaunt their courage. Hunting large ungulates has become synonymous with courage, even when done from cover and with a scoped rifle.
Apparently, the creators of bullfighting began to reason in the same way, who, however, did not hide in the bushes, offering those who wish to tickle their nerves to meet the bull face to face, though not without weapons, but armed with a sword, which the bullfighter must kill bull. To do this, the bullfighter first teases the animal with a piece of bright red matter, which is called "capote", awakening aggression in him.
At the same time, the bull is trying so hard to pierce the capote with his horns that a strong impression is created that it is the red color that irritates him. However, this opinion was questioned, and capotes of other colors were used as an experiment. There was no change in reaction from the bull, and the bulls were still desperately rushing on the hood. Then, if the matter is not at all in the color of matter, then what is the matter?
As scientists have found out, bulls have dichromatic vision. Their eyes have only two types of light-sensitive proteins. For comparison, a person has as many as three types of these. And surprisingly, it is the third type of protein, which is absent in bulls, that is closest to the red end of the spectrum. For this reason, bulls will be able to distinguish green from blue, but they cannot distinguish red from green.
Therefore, any fabric of a bright color can annoy the bull. And it is for this reason that shepherds and shepherds prefer to wear black and gray, nondescript tones during the performance of their professional activities. However, the real rage in the bull is not the color of matter, but the fact that it sways.
However, in the same way, the bull will be annoyed by any rapid movement of a person, object or animal.
So the real danger will be not so much the one who stands next to the bull, dressed up in all red, but the one who begins to rush about in a panic in front of this animal that does not like fuss. In this case, the bull will really be tempted to “ride” the hurried man on his horns, which they are trying to do, during another fun traditional for Spain with the participation of bulls - encierro - when people run along the fenced streets of the city trying to escape from specially released into such an impromptu corral of bulls.
To irritate the animal, it would be enough just to run in front of him, then the bull would rush at the aggressor without any rags. It would seem that the matador would not even have to hamper his movements, holding the cowl, which is completely useless in combat terms, but in this case, the mortality among the matadors would be much higher, since the bull would aim not at the red rag that irritates him, but directly at the matador . And in such a confrontation, even a man armed with a sword, the chances of winning are extremely doubtful. That is why capote was “invented” so that the bull would fight not with a person, but with a piece of matter.
It should be noted that if you look at the bullfight carefully, you will notice that the matador actively swinging the capote moves very smoothly.
His movements are more like dance steps from some old minuet than the movements of a fighter. How the matadors came to the conclusion that precisely such movements should be made during a fight with a bull can hardly be established now, but it is thanks to them that a contrast is created between the smoothly moving matador and the rapidly oscillating matter, which in the overwhelming majority of cases becomes the object of the bull's fury. . Well, if it doesn’t, if the bull is too smart to understand exactly who his true enemy is, or if the matador moves too abruptly, then ... you understand.
In two centuries, sixty-three matadors have died in Spain. Although it's not that much. For comparison, about a hundred thousand times more bulls die in a bullfight, over thirty thousand individuals a year.
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Today, there are many different breeds of bulls, among which there are no “bad” ones, since each variety is bred for a specific purpose, winning in comparison with the rest in some parameters and inferior in other characteristics. Regardless of the direction of breeding, these animals are of great agricultural importance to humans.
All about the bull
The bull is a large horned animal, a representative of the subfamily of bovid artiodactyls. Representatives of the species differ from other subfamilies in size and massive physique.
The bull is taller than the cow, since the live weight of an adult is 60–70% more, the head is rougher, and the neck is thicker. The shoulders of the bulls are more rounded, the chest is wider. Young gobies reach puberty on average at 7 months of age.
primeval bull
The ancestor of domestic cows was a wild bull, in particular, its subspecies extinct in the wild - tour (also a primitive bull). Wild and early domesticated turs were used only for meat, but with the growing dependence of people on agriculture, they began to be used mainly as a labor force: for many centuries turs were the main draft animals and remain so in many third world countries to this day.
domestic bull
The domestic bull is a domesticated subspecies of the wild bull that is bred for meat and leather. Males of the species are called bulls, castrated males are called oxen.
The inseminator bull (or breeding bull, also a male sire) is a major value in animal husbandry, as it is used in breeding to obtain thoroughbred offspring through natural mating or artificial insemination. Incorrectly selected breeding males (with low potential, high differentiation of traits) can significantly reduce the productive qualities of the offspring, even when using outstanding mothers.
domestic bull
bull breeds
The whole variety of breeds of bulls, depending on the economic orientation, is conditionally divided into 3 branches:
- Dairy breeds. Individuals of this direction are bred for the production of dairy products. Due to their lean physique, the use for beef production becomes unprofitable, but they are distinguished by a good-natured character and balanced behavior.
- Meat breeds are large in size. Unlike dairy breeds, the physiological processes of meat varieties are aimed at increasing muscle tissue under conditions of the most optimal consumption. Milk from such cows is only enough to feed the calves.
- Combined, that is, universal breeds are characterized by the fact that they combine the quality of both directions.
Note! Today, beef is highly valued in dietary nutrition, and therefore the breeding of beef bulls is of particular importance. Their meat is low in fat and cholesterol, so it is good for health.
There are more than 1000 purebred breeds of bulls in the world, as well as about 30 hybrid forms. This diversity is explained by the wide distribution of cattle and its special importance in agriculture. In addition to the usual traditional breeds, there are quite exotic and rare varieties that are not so easy to see on an ordinary farm.
Takin
Takin (lat. Budorcas taxicolor) - a bull from butane, a very rare species that looks like a large goat. The height of the animal at the withers is about 100 cm, the length of the body is 120-150 cm, the body weight reaches 300 kg. The takin has a big mouth and eyes, but small ears. It is covered with a thick golden skin that darkens towards the underbelly. The horns of males and females resemble buffalo horns.
black bull
Aberdeen Angus bull (eng. Aberdeen Angus) is a breed that comes from Scotland. Distinctive features of Black Angus gobies are polled and black color. Their Aberdeens are passed on to their descendants even when crossed with individuals of other breeds.
These small cows rarely reach 120 cm at the withers. Their skin is loose and thin. The skeleton of animals is thin and makes up 15-18% of the weight of the carcass.
black bull
Zebu
Zebu (lat. Bos taurus indicus) is an unusual subspecies of a wild bull with a pronounced hump. This muscle-fat formation serves as a kind of "warehouse" of nutrients and plays an important role in the life of the animal's body.
The mass of adult zebu reaches 300-350 kg. Satisfactory meat qualities, as well as high fat content of milk and endurance make humpback bulls one of the most valuable forms of cattle in areas with a hot climate.
musk ox
Musk bull, or musk ox (lat. Ovibos moschatus) is a large stocky mammal with a large head and short neck. Musk oxen are covered with unusually thick hair and have rounded horns with a massive base on the forehead.
On average, the height at the withers of an adult musk bull is 135 cm, weight varies from 260 to 650 kg.
bull gaur
Gaur (lat. Bos gaurus), or Indian bison, is the largest representative of the genus of real bulls, which were bred in India.
The body length of an adult gaur reaches an average of 3 m, height - 2 m. This bull from India weighs from 600 to 1500 kg. The gaura's horns are curved upwards and resemble crescents in shape, the coat color is brown, approaching black.
The domesticated form of the gaur bull is the gayal.
bull watussi
Watussi (eng. Ankole-Watusi) is an African bull with a very exotic appearance. A characteristic feature of the species are huge horns (up to 1.8 m wide), which serve as a kind of air conditioner for the animal. They are riddled with blood vessels and regulate body temperature in extreme heat.
Watussi are considered sacred bulls among African tribes, and only representatives of the nobility and the wives of leaders can own them. These bulls are raised primarily for meat.
For your information! The weight of adult bulls reaches 600-730 kg.
Tibetan bull
Tibetan bull, also yak (lat. Bos mutus) or sarlyk - artiodactyl mammal native to the Tibetan mountains. This species is difficult to confuse with another because of its memorable appearance. This is a massive, long-haired animal with a sloping back and long, upcurved horns. The height of an adult individual at the withers reaches 2 m, weight - 1000 kg. A distinctive feature of the yaks are rather short legs with a long body.
american bull
Bison (lat. Bison bison), or American bison, is a large, massive animal with thick brown hair. The head is massive, broad-browed. The ends of the horns are wrapped inside.
The back of the body of the American bull is not as developed as the front. The growth of an adult is 2 m, length - 3 m.
Since ancient times, bulls have occupied an important place in human life, however, despite such a close "neighborhood", there are many so-called "false" myths about these animals, and some features of their content are incomprehensible to many.
Why bulls react to red
It is believed that during a bullfight, the bull attacks the matador's red cloak because the red color irritates him. This is nothing more than a myth, since bulls and cows do not distinguish colors well. Moreover, they do not perceive red color at all. The animal irritates another - movement.
Bulls are very short-sighted, so the flickering of matter is perceived by them as a threat, but the red color for the bullfight was not chosen by chance. It is designed to calm, not irritate, but not the bull, but the audience. The blood of the animal is not so noticeable on the red fabric, and therefore its killing is perceived more calmly.
Are bulls able to distinguish colors
Color blindness (also color blindness) is a hereditary feature of the vision of humans and primates, which is expressed in the inability to distinguish all or some colors, but most often people who cannot see red are called color blind. In this regard, it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question of whether bulls are color blind.
The fact is that bulls and cows have only two color receptors in their eyes, and not three, like in humans, and in general, most animals distinguish only the spectrum of colors that is important for their life. For them, this is a feature of vision, while for humans, limited color recognition is a disease. While humans can distinguish shades of red, blue, and yellow, as well as their various combinations, cattle are most sensitive to yellowish-green and blue-violet colors. And although bulls do not distinguish between red tones, this does not make them color blind.
Bull and red
Why do you need a ring in the nose of a bull
On a farm, bulls are usually kept with a nose ring. The reason is simple - these are large, strong animals that are difficult to control, but there are points on the body of animals with increased pain sensitivity. These are the ears, eyes and nose. That is why quite often the partition between the nostrils of the animal is used to fasten the ring, with the help of which the obstinate animal is kept “in check” without much difficulty.
Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians revered bulls as sacred animals. In particular, the Egyptian bull Apis (or Khapis) from ancient Egyptian mythology, dedicated to the gods Osiris and Ptah, even had its own temple in Memphis.
Initially, Apis was considered the embodiment of a part of the soul of Ptah, the patron of the city of Memphis, and acted as a symbol of the power of the pharaoh. It was believed that Apis existed in the body of an ordinary bull living at the temple, and with his death he took on a new incarnation.
When the previous incarnation of Apis died, the priests of Ptah began to search for a new "vessel" for the soul of their god. As soon as a new animal was found, it was fattened for a month, after which it was taken to the temple.
Breeding and keeping yaks at home
Domestic yaks are bred primarily for meat and wool, since the average annual milk yield of this breed is insignificant - about 500 liters per year, no more, but the milk is very fatty. The meat is rough and is mainly used in the manufacture of sausage products and canned food. In addition, about 3 kg of wool can be obtained from one adult per year.
Keeping and breeding yaks does not present any difficulties. Even domesticated cattle prefer to get food on their own, climbing high into the mountains. You can feed them with black bread, turnips, carrots and oats. The main thing at the same time is not to overdo it, since these products are a delicacy for yaks, and not daily food. As a mineral supplement, salt and bone meal are added to the feeders.
The yak corral is a simple fence made of metal structures, the height of which does not exceed 2.5 m. A small canopy is built inside the corral, under which animals can hide from the rain.
Important! Yaks are rather unsociable animals. This trait is especially evident during the rutting season, so it is recommended not to disturb them at this time.
Yaks can be crossed with domestic cows, while the resulting hybrids, hainaks, are convenient not only as draft animals, they are distinguished by good fertility and produce up to 3.5 tons of milk per year.
When choosing a bull for your estate, experts recommend paying attention to the following characteristics of the animal:
Important! In order not to spend a lot of time caring for animals at home, it is recommended to purchase young animals at the end of April so that they can be immediately put on grazing.
The business of raising calves for meat can bring significant profit if you know not only the numerical parameters: milk yield, meat yield, etc., but also some features of the nature of the breed and its content. It is equally important to pay attention to the appearance of animals when buying. And then the farmer will not burn out!
