Bulls Don't Hate the Color Red
Movement, not color, attracts the bull (Getty Images).
The Claim
Bulls hate the color red.
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Emerging story
Spanish-style bullfighting, a highly ritualized form of the sport, has been around for years. One of its components, the tercio de muerte, has the matador come into the ring alone waving a muleta, or red cape, to attract the bull. Many believe that the cape is red because the color angers bulls.
Misbar’s Analysis
We discovered that like all other cattle, bulls are actually red/green colorblind – meaning that the color of the muleta cannot be what angers them. Rather, it seems to be the movement of the cape that angers them.
The muleta is believed to be traditionally red because the red color helps conceal the bull’s blood.
An excerpt from Mythbusters testing the movement v. red hypothesis is below.
Misbar’s Classification
Fake
