Forest Bull

Forest Bull, also Ethiopian Bull and Ethiopian Forest Bull, is an animal from Medieval bestiaries. According to Pliny the Elder,[1] they were a breed of ferocious, red cattle, twice as large as normal cattle, from Ethiopia. Their hides were believed to be able to withstand any weapon. Like the Yale, their horns could swivel in any direction. They called the forest bulls "flesh eaters" and they were twice the size of regular bulls in all of Greece. They were the most ferocious and savage of all animals. They could run at great speeds and their hair was red. They used their horns to fight and raised them like they could their own ears and made them look strong especially in battle. No weapon could physically hurt the bull whether it was spear or arrow and even iron bounced off its' skin. The forest bull hunted herds of wild animals and mostly horses. Herdsman, who lived in the area, dug deep ditches to try and ambush the bull. According to troglodtoi (cave-dwellers) "this is judged to be the king of beasts, and rightly so, for it possesses the courage of a lion, the speed of a horse, the strength of a bull, and is stronger than iron.

Red buffalo from Der Naturen Bloeme by Jacob van Maerlant (c. 1340s)

See also

References
  1. "Ethiopian Bulls". Theoi Greek Mythology. Retrieved 2008-12-28.

[1] [2] [3]

  1. Aelian. On the Characteristics of Animals.
  2. AESCHYLUS. Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides.
  3. AESCHYLUS. Prometheus Bound, Suppliants, Seven Against Thebes.
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