The claim

“Bulls charge because they hate the color red”

Myth

Bulls are dichromatic, a kind of color blindness, so the red of the cape is irrelevant to them.

What's really going on

The red color of a matador's muleta is irrelevant to the bull. Bulls are dichromatic, a kind of color blindness, so they can't really tell what color the cloth is.

The receipts

“The red color of the muleta is actually irrelevant to the bull since bulls are dichromatic (a type of colorblind), meaning neither the cape nor the muleta color can be accurately discerned by the bull.”
Muleta, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.

Published October 29, 2026 · How we decide verdicts · Suggest a correction

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