Animals / Other species / Interesting and useful

How Do Cows and Bulls See Colors?

There are different opinions on this matter. Some people believe that these animals cannot tolerate red at all, on the contrary, others believe that the bulls were completely color blind. In fact, both statements are not entirely true. To understand how bulls and cows can see colors, let's find out what kind of vision these animals have.

The visual system of bulls and cows differ from humans. They have more limited color sensitivity, but are still able to distinguish some colors.

As a result of the research, scientists have found that bulls and cows are able to see the main spectrums of colors, such as black, white, green, blue, yellow and red. At the same time, animals are unlikely to be able to distinguish between their saturation and color shade.

It should also be noted that the visual ability of cows and bulls is focused on the perception of movement and contrast. They have wide peripheral vision and are able to detect moving objects from the sides. This is due to their provided behavioral needs, since the wild ancestors of bulls and cows were prey to predators.

The claim that the color red causes bullish aggression is not true. As with color blindness, it has a scientific confirmation. As noted above, bulls actually recognize red, albeit very weakly. However, the red color does not absolutely disturb them and has nothing to do with increasing the level of aggression.

During the Spanish bullfight, matadors, when confronted with a bull, wave a muleta — red cloth in front of him. The fierce confrontation between the beast and man, combined with such a spectacular attribute, led many to believe that it was the bright color of the muleta that provoked the bull to attack. In fact, the color of muleta does not play any role here. The muleta can be absolutely any color. The aggression of a bull is caused not by color, but by sharp chaotic movements in front of it. Since the animal does not react to color, but to sudden movements in front of it. The red fabric was chosen for a particular reason — so the blood on it is less noticeable. 

In addition, before the fight, the bulls are not fed for some time. So the already not the most accommodating animal becomes irritated, and this makes the performance especially spectacular.

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