Q&A for How to Avoid or Escape a Bull

Find something to get behind, like a tree, a large hay bale, a big bush, anything. If you can't find anything, slow down, move slowly, and don't make eye contact. If you feel you have to stop, then stop, but whatever you do, don't run, you'll only invite him to chase you. Move in the direction closest to safety. If you get attacked, you get attacked, there's nothing that can stop that bull from attacking you, but try play dead as much as possible until he loses interest.

He might very well spin around and nail you back. Or, if you're lucky, he'll jump forward and move away from you. Then he can hook around and come after you, so that is a bad idea.

If they have a mind to go through a door, they'll do it - and quite easily.

You don't need to know parkour in order to escape a charging bull or cow. You'll find that adrenaline can cause you to do things you normally couldn't due under stress and fear for your life. Ideally though, if you don't know parkour or aren't particularly athletic, it's wise to make sure you avoid a situation where a bull will be charging at you in the first place, like not entering the pasture that the bull is in.

Bulls can run around 35 km/hr, which is almost as fast as a horse.

He may run at you then stop, or he run right by you in a bluff charge, but he won't be pretending. If he's actually intent on you and set on getting after you, he won't be bluffing. Don't go in thinking he'll do that, because you might get caught. Then again, don't think or worry about him going after you, because often if you worry about what might happen and anticipate it, then it will happen to you.

Bulls aren't like bears where if you play dead they'll cover you up and leave you alone (applicable to grizzlies, not black bears, by the way). A bull may continue to see you as the object of his frustration and continue to beat the crap out of you. He may know you're attempting to play dead, pretend to leave you alone, and come after you when you think it's safe to move and try to get away.

No, it actually may make him more irate. You would need to hit him before the pursuit even begins, because you won't have enough time to turn around and hit him and run away since bulls are incredibly fast animals. Remember, in order to turn around you need to stop first, and if the bull isn't far behind you, you will not have enough time to hit him, or do anything else.

Of course, just make the first shot is a kill shot. And make sure you're using a high-caliber rifle or handgun lest the bullet ricochets, causing potential injury to you, to the bull, and also potentially making the bull even more mad.

You are more safe on the other side of the fence than you would be if you were in the same pen or pasture with him. The fence not only acts as a physical barrier, but a psychological one as well. He may try to come through the fence if he's really motivated, especially if you pestered or teased him. Most bulls, unlike the Spanish fighting bulls, don't have enough gumption to come through a fence at you, though.

No, but I'm sure it differs with the different animals. Bulls don't usually close their eyes, but I suppose it's possible.

Well, if he sees something odd in his corral or pasture that he knows wasn't there before, he'll come over to investigate. So yes, you'll be noticed. But the fact if he becomes a threat to you laying down and lying still is probably not so much as he may decide to either nuzzle you around a little roughly for a little bit, or get bored and go back to grazing.

Yes, they can bite you, but it's not their primary means of defense.

They cannot climb trees. But they will use their weight to bend down small trees or saplings if they have an itchy spot to scratch. They won't knock down small trees just because they can.

You will get injured, or worse. You're not in some video game where after you die you can do a restart and get a fresh go at it again. You only have one body, one life. Use your head to take care of yourself and avoid getting hurt in the first place.

No. Neither bulls nor cows nor any bovine or hoofed animal can climb a tree. They do not have the musculature nor claws (like a cat or a bear) to be able to climb a tree. So you are completely safe if you have to get up into a tree to escape a bull.

First of all, DO NOT PUT CHILDREN IN WITH A BULL if you do not know how he will react. The first rule to prevent an attack is to avoid it altogether. This is common sense. If children are with a bull and that bull unpredictably attacks, make sure they have something to climb up, like a tree or a fence. If someone gets hurt, and it's serious, call 911 or rush them to a hospital yourself.

It might. Bulls are not like bears. Playing dead or being very still is not guaranteed to prevent a bull from charging you.

I still wouldn't trust such a bull. If he's not giving you any threatening nor challenging behaviors, then you should be okay. Just don't be nervous or give him any reason to decide to turn on you, such as rubbing his forehead, teasing him, etc. A bull is a bull and still deserves to be respected, but not exactly trusted.

A full-grown bull can weigh as much as 1,500 pounds. If he's running flat out and runs into a tree, yes, he'll knock it down, unless it's huge.

Attempting to stab a bull in the eye would mean getting dangerously close to it, so this should be avoided. If it's your only option though, then I would go for it.

If it can go faster than 35 KPH/21 MPH, yes.

If you lie down, the bull might trample or gore you, so I would not recommend this.

Yes, they are surprisingly agile. In addition, they can twist their heads (where the horns are) before they have stopped and changed direction. However, they are rather heavy and can't move about like a ballerina or a butterfly. Once you understand how they move, you should be able to get away from a bull. It's like stepping to the side out from under a falling tree instead of running away in the direction it is falling.

Yes, it is.

No, the bull won't knock over the fence to get to you, although it might ram itself against the fence once or twice.

No, iron gates are too strong for a bull.

Do not under any circumstances take it by the horns. That is a certainty of being flung in the air and then trampled on. Bulls are extremely agile and fast, but they are also bulky, so their momentum does carry them forward if they charge. In all, yes, you can jump aside, but I recommend doing a fake jump left first before jumping right. Or get out of the arena, or climb a wall, or don't mess with bull.

Give it space. Bulls, like all cattle, have a flight zone, an oval shape around their body where if you get into it they get nervous and move. Give the bull as much space as you can (the flight zone can be 50 feet for nervous bulls). Stay near the fence if possible. It's unlikely that a bull will spot you from 300 yards away and come charging at you, but it's not impossible.

Yes, he can. Faster than you can, too!