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| Iberian Fighting Bull | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 10 2012, 01:30 PM (6,796 Views) | |
| Taipan | Jan 10 2012, 01:30 PM Post #1 |
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Iberian Fighting Bull The Iberian Fighting Bull (Toro Bravo, toro de lidia, toro lidiado, ganado bravo, Touro de Lide) is an Iberian cattle breed. It is primarily bred free-range on extensive estates in Southern Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries where bull fighting is organized. Fighting bulls are selected primarily for a certain combination of aggression, energy, strength, stamina and intelligence: a bull intelligent enough to distinguish man from cape would be too dangerous. Bulls too passive or lazy to charge would make no spectacle, and bulls without stamina would tire before the fifteen minutes of the fight had passed and so on. History of the breedSome commentators trace the origins of the fighting bull to wild bulls from the Iberian Peninsula and use was made of them by the Roman Empire for Colosseum games. Although the actual origins are disputed, genetic studies have indicated that the breeding stock have an unusually old genetic pool and an unusual amount of DNA usually found in cattle in Africa, perhaps coming from the Maghreb and dating from the period of Moorish occupation of Spain. The aggression of the bull has been maintained (or augmented, see above) by selective breeding and has come to be popular among the people of Spain, France and Portugal for the purpose of bullfighting. It was later introduced to Latin America by the Spanish settlers who wished to hold bullfights in their colonies. In May 2010, Spanish scientists cloned the first of the breed. The calf, named Got, meaning "glass" in Valencian, was cloned from a bull named Vasito and implanted into a Holstein host mother. Breed characteristics The fighting bull is characterized by its aggressive behaviour, especially when solitary or unable to flee. Many are coloured black or dark brown, but other colorations are normal. They reach maturity slower than meat breeds as they were not selected to be heavy, having instead an well-muscled "athletic" look, with a prominent morillo, a complex of muscles over the shoulder and neck which gives the bull its distinctive profile and strength with its horns. The horns are longer than in most other breeds and are also present in both males and females. Mature bulls weigh from 500 to 700 kg (1100-1600 lb). Among fighting cattle there are several "encastes" or sub types of the breed. Of the so-called "foundational breeds", only the bloodlines of Vistahermosa, Vázquez, Gallardo and Cabrera remain today. In the cases of the latter two only the ranches of Miura and Pablo Romero are deeply influenced by them. The so-called "modern foundational bloodlines" are Saltillo, Murube, Parladé and Santa Coloma, all of which are mainly composed of Vistahermosa blood. Growth Fighting cattle born on specialised, wide-ranging ranches which are often havens for Spanish wildlife as the farming techniques used are extensive. It is raised by its mother until one year old, after which it is separated from the mother regardless of gender. Afterwards it is branded and kept in single sex groups. When they reach two years or so, they are sent to the tienta, or testing. For the males, this will establish if they are suitable for breeding, the bullfight, or being slaughtered for meat. The testing for the bullfight is only of their aggression towards the horse, as they cannot see a man on the ground before they enter the ring. They learn how to use their horns in tests of strength and dominance with other bulls. Due to their especial aggression, these combats can lead to severe injuries and even the death of bulls at great cost to the breeder. The females are more fully tested, including by a bullfighter with his capes, hence a bull's "courage" is often said to descend from his mother. If fit for bullfighting bulls will return to their peers. Cows passing the tienta will become mothers and slaughtered only when they are too old to bear calves. After males are three years old they are no longer considered calves, afterwards they are known as novillos and are ready for bullfighting, although novilladas are for training bullfighters, or novilleros. The best bulls are kept for corridas de toros with full matadors. Under Spanish law they must be at least four years old and reach the weight of 460kg to fight in a first rank bullring, 435 for a second rank one, and 410kg for the third rank rings. They must also have fully-functional vision, even horns (which have not been tampered with) and be in generally good condition. A few times a year a bull will be indultado, or 'pardoned', meaning his life is spared in the bullring due to 'outstanding' behavior in the ring leading to the audience petitioning the president of the ring with white handkerchiefs. The bullfighter joins the petition as it is a great honor to have a bull one has fought pardoned. The bull will then be returned to the ranch where he will live out his days in the fields and in most cases will become a 'seed bull' (he is mated once with some 30 cows and these offspring are tested after four years for their efficacy in the ring). In these circumstances a bull's lifespan can be 20 to 25 years. Cattle have dichromacy, rendering them red-green colorblind and falsifying the idea that the color red makes them angry; they just respond to the movement the "muleta" makes. The red coloring is traditional and is believed to both dissimulate blood stains and provide a suitable light-dark contrast against the arena floor. |
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| firefly | Jun 12 2012, 07:49 AM Post #61 |
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No, the bull isn´t castrated, I think. And it has a large head and horns, typical of bulls. And castrated bulls aren´t used in this kind of « fiestas». They lack the agressivity. Yes, I understand what you mean. If I find again that video of Lidia bulls fighting that look like Pajuna ( in my opinion), I´ll post here. Edited by firefly, Jun 12 2012, 08:56 AM.
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| firefly | Jun 12 2012, 09:22 AM Post #62 |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtXLy7cYHe0 Very young bulls fighting |
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| Dfoidl | Jun 12 2012, 03:25 PM Post #63 |
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My assumption that the bull is castrated was based on his colour, which is basically like a cow's (just like the other bull in the video), the horn tips that grow upwards instead of inwards, no visible scrotum between the legs (maybe due to the photo, though) and a comparably slender muzzle. But you may be right, hard to judge from a single photo I guess. The fact that wild-coloured bulls do not get black when castrated made me think of the genetic background of sexual dimorphism. Maybe the gene which causes a black colour lies on the Y-chromosome only, so that the basic colour (what we see in cows) gets black in bulls. And if dimorphism is messed up in course of domestication, it may be that this gene somehow reached the X-chromosome. But that's just a thought of mine. Thanks for re-posting those two bulls! They are really nice. |
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| firefly | Jun 12 2012, 07:53 PM Post #64 |
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The other bull in the video is castrated. This one that we are talking about ( of the picture), very likely, isn´t. Honestly I don´t find his muzzle that thin, his horns grow forward, inwards and only then upwards, so are ok ( there are many Lidia bulls with this kind of horn shape). His scrotum is not visible, due to the picture angle and the position of the animal, the head is pretty large and people don´t use castrated bulls for these kind of events. Regarding the coat color, be aware that there are several not castrated I F. bulls with light saddle like this one ( which was supposed to be a wrong coat color expression). In fact, it was found later, that North African aurochs bulls, have this kind of coat. We just don´t know if these bulls are expressing the already known and proven north african influence in some I F bulls lineages or a wrong coat color expression. I did underlined that part, because the Eurasian influence is the only existing one, in several lineages. Yes, castration involves changes in hormone production, that´s a fact. Edited by firefly, Jun 12 2012, 07:59 PM.
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| Dfoidl | Jun 12 2012, 08:09 PM Post #65 |
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Hi, yes, I was aware of all that, it was just the complete picture that suggested to me that the bull was castrated, but I may have been wrong on that.
Yes, that's the way in all vertebrate species of course; in the case of cattle it might give us a clue of the genetic mechanism of sexual dimorphism in colour. F.e. if it really is a special Y gene that causes black colour in bulls, then this has to mean that black cows with no dimorphism have this special gene, therefore necessarily on an X chromosome. If that is the case, it might have implications for back breeding. It may mean that bulls that stem from such cows will have that gene on their X chromosome as well, what means that female offspring has the chance to inherit that gene on the wrong chromosome as well. Therefore I'd conclude that the only way to eliminate that gene on x chromosomes is due to demography, therefore selective breeding. The ideal way would be to screen all the individuals of the population if it is big enough. But I honestly have to admit that I have no idea of the genetic mechanisms causing coloural dimorphism after all, so this is all my pure speculation. |
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| firefly | Jun 12 2012, 08:16 PM Post #66 |
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Well, our opinions diverge on this one, then. By the complete picture, I see a fully functional bull.  |
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| Dfoidl | Jun 19 2012, 06:13 AM Post #67 |
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Edit:Oops, that post actually should have gone to the aurochs thread.
Edited by Dfoidl, Jun 19 2012, 08:23 AM.
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| firefly | Jun 24 2012, 10:43 AM Post #68 |
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Young I. F. bull pictures:        With other coat:   Cows:  _nunocandeias.jpg)
Edited by firefly, Jun 24 2012, 12:09 PM.
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| Dfoidl | Jun 25 2012, 07:31 AM Post #69 |
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Wow, splendid individuals! Some Lidias truly are living relicts. |
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| Dfoidl | Jul 2 2012, 03:07 AM Post #70 |
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Nice cow in the front:  |
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| firefly | Jul 4 2012, 08:34 AM Post #71 |
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Hi Dfoidl Nice that you did liked them. There is still some time to educate people about the true identity of these animals, before they disappear. Surprisingly, despite the fact that some local names are given to them like « wild cattle», most people only see them as more agressive domestic cattle and not as aurochs related cattle. A plan is already being done to educate the public ( especially the locals) about the primtive type of Iberian Fighting bulls plus a breeding project will start hopefully in 2012 or in 2013. |
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| firefly | Jul 7 2012, 12:19 PM Post #72 |
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Lidia skull ( unknown age): Uploaded with ImageShack.us A Lidia bull  Uploaded with ImageShack.us  Uploaded with ImageShack.us A possible albino Lidia:  Uploaded with ImageShack.us Darker form:  Lidia cow:  Uploaded with ImageShack.us Edited by firefly, Jul 7 2012, 01:27 PM.
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| firefly | Jul 12 2012, 04:30 AM Post #73 |
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 Uploaded with ImageShack.us Young I. F. bull Now a very young I. F. bull:  Uploaded with ImageShack.us This is like looking at a puzzle, on which all the pieces are scattered so we have to piece them together again. Not easy, but not impossible. Edited by firefly, Jul 12 2012, 04:53 AM.
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| Dfoidl | Jul 13 2012, 04:44 AM Post #74 |
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Maybe it's not even that difficult; the entirely black bulls could, crossed with lighter bulls with saddle and eel stripe, result in animals with correct aurochs colour in one generation. Maybe it could also be possible to achieve an aurochs-like colour by crossing lineages with red bulls and red cows with black bulls and black cows; if the black colour in bulls is dominant and the black cows get diluted by the red cows, similar to some Sayaguesa crossbreeds. Quite possibly, a Lidia lineage with the correct colour and a good body and horn shape could be achieved quite fast, I think. |
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| firefly | Jul 14 2012, 05:43 AM Post #75 |
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I agree with your purposals. I really like this cow:  Uploaded with ImageShack.us |
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