Are Bulls Really Angered by the Color Red?

This episode uncovers the truth behind the long-standing myth that bulls become enraged when they see the color red. Contrary to popular belief, bulls are color-blind to red and green — they are dichromatic animals that can only perceive shades of blue and yellow. The real trigger for a bull’s charge in a bullfight is movement, not color.

The famous red cape, or muleta, used by matadors isn’t meant to provoke the bull at all — it’s meant for the audience. The color red symbolizes passion and danger while conveniently hiding the blood that appears during the fight. The myth took hold because of centuries of artistic symbolism, storytelling, and repetition. Humans associated the color red with anger, and over time, projected that idea onto the animal.

Scientific experiments have confirmed that bulls charge equally at moving objects of any color — red, blue, yellow, or white. They ignore motionless ones entirely. This proves that motion, not hue, provokes the bull’s aggression.

Ultimately, the story of the “angry bull and the red cape” reveals more about human psychology than animal behavior. We were fooled by symbolism, tradition, and our tendency to see emotions in animals that don’t think the way we do. The red cape, it turns out, was always for us — not for the bull.