(public domain photo by Fiskeharrison (talk)
This is a Spanish fighting bull—a toro bravo.
It is as different from a beef bull as a wolf is from a dog.
It is the result of years—now over two centuries—of conscientious breeding. What qualities are wanted?
Above all, the fighting bull must be aggressive. He must not hesitate to charge any animal, including a man, that invades his territory.
Notice the round neck muscle—his tossing muscle. It swells when he gets aroused. Some etymologists believe the very word BULL comes from BALL—this bulging neck.
Fighting bulls, Campo Charo, Salamanca, Spain (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license photo by Juan Pablo Zumel Arranz)
He is the aristocrat of farm animals. None is treated so well for so long. He has his own wide spaces to wander and is left mostly alone for four years. After that he becomes the hero of the bullring. There, when he gallops into the ring with his head high, challenging the whole world, the spectators break into applause. He is nature’s proudest child—fierce, beautiful. No wonder he was even worshipped in old Iberia.