A wounded bull being shown the red Muleta to taunt it to charge. Note that the Matador doesn’t just “show” these capes, but rather dangles and whips them in front of the bull it’s these “annoying” movements that taunt the bull and causes it to charge. The bull charges at this colored cape with just as much rage. Later in the fight, the bullfighter or Matador uses a larger cape (known as the capote) which is colored magenta on one side, and usually blue or gold on the other. In the bullfighting ring, the Matador taunts the bull to charge with a small, bright-red cape (called the Muleta), which seems to irritate the bull and cause him to charge. This myth about red rage was likely created by spectators after observing the age-old tradition of Spanish bullfighting.

What actually sets bulls off is the movement. Bulls are color-blind to red and green and can’t make a distinction between these colors and gray. Red seems to be the one color (regardless of what the item is) that causes bulls to switch to a full-on rampage the instant they see it and lead to bull charge. This myth has been propagated so much that a bull’s crimson-stoked ire has become a common expression known as “seeing red”.

It’s been demonstrated in many movies, cartoons and other works of fiction that bulls are enraged merely by seeing the color red.

Before discussing how to avoid or survive a bull charge, it’s worthwhile to know what actually causes a bull to charge. In this article, we dispel a few myths about bulls and show you how to survive their attack, if it can’t be avoided. But, should you find yourself in a place or situation where you’ll have to deal with a bull that’s ready to charge at you, it’s better to be armed with the knowledge of how to survive or, better yet, avoid a raging bull’s attack. If you live in an urban area, finding yourself face-to-face with an angry bull charge seems unlikely.

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