A bull is an intact grownup male of the species Bos taurus. More muscular and competitive than the ladies of the equal species, the cows, bulls have lengthy been an vital image in lots of cultures, and play a great position in red meat ranching, dairy farming, and plenty of different cultural activities, which includes bull preventing and bull riding.
Nomenclature
The lady counterpart to a bull is a cow, whilst a male of the species that has been castrated is a steer, ox, or bullock, even though in North America, this ultimate time period refers to a younger bull, and in Australia to a draught animal. Use of those phrases varies drastically with place and dialect. Colloquially, humans unusual with livestock can also additionally consult with each castrated and intact animals as "bulls".
A wild, younger, unmarked bull is called a micky in Australia. Improper or overdue castration on a bull effects in it turning into a rough steer, additionally called a stag in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In a few countries, an incompletely castrated male is thought additionally as a rig or ridgling.
The word "bull" additionally denotes the adult males of different bovines, which includes bison and water buffalo, in addition to many different species of huge animals, which includes elephants, rhinos, seals and walruses, hippos, camels, giraffes, elk, moose, whales, and antelopes.
Characteristics
Bulls are a whole lot greater muscular than cows, with thicker bones, large feet, a completely muscular neck, and a huge, bony head with defensive ridges over the eyes. These functions help bulls in preventing for domination over a herd, giving the winner advanced get right of entry to to cows for reproduction. The hair is commonly shorter at the body, however the neck and head frequently have a "mane" of curlier, wooly hair. Bulls are normally approximately the equal top as cows or a touch taller, however due to the extra muscle and bone mass, they frequently weigh some distance greater. Most of the time, a bull has a hump on his shoulders.
Castrated male livestock are bodily just like ladies in construct and horn shape, even though if allowed to attain maturity, they'll be drastically taller than both bulls or cows, with closely muscled shoulders and necks.
Reproductive anatomy
Bulls turn out to be fertile round seven months of age. Their fertility is intently associated with the dimensions in their testicles, and one easy take a look at of fertility is to degree the circumference of the scrotum; a younger bull is probably to be fertile as soon as this reaches ; that of a totally grownup bull can be over .Bulls have a fibroelastic penis. Given the small quantity of erectile tissue, little expansion happens after erection. The penis is pretty inflexible whilst now no longer erect, and will become even greater inflexible for the duration of erection. Protrusion isn't affected a whole lot through erection, however greater through rest of the retractor penis muscle and straightening of the sigmoid flexure. Bulls are every so often suffering from a circumstance called "corkscrew penis". The penis of a mature bull is set 3–four cm in diameter, and 80–one hundred cm in length.
The bull's glans penis has a rounded and elongated shape. In bullfighting, the motion of the matador's cape, and now no longer the color, provokes a response withinside the bull.
Management
Beef production
Other than the few bulls wished for breeding, the considerable majority of male livestock are castrated and slaughtered for meat earlier than the age of 3 years, besides in which they're wished as paintings oxen for haulage. Most of those red meat animals are castrated as calves to lessen competitive conduct and save you undesirable mating, even though a few are reared as uncastrated bull red meat. A bull is commonly equipped for slaughter one or months earlier than a castrated male or a lady, and produces proportionately greater and leaner muscle.
Temperament and coping with
Adult bulls can also additionally weigh between . Most are able to competitive conduct and require cautious coping with to make sure protection of human beings and different animals. Those of dairy breeds can be greater susceptible to aggression, whilst red meat breeds are rather much less competitive, aleven though red meat breeds inclusive of the Spanish Fighting Bull and associated animals also are mentioned for competitive tendencies, which might be in addition advocated through selective breeding.
