Foto: Iñaki Vergara
A bell-oxen, one of the neutered steers that accompany the bulls in the running of the bulls, died inside the arena as soon as it arrived at the end of its run. The steer, after turning back just at the entrance to the bullring and ignoring the rest of the pack, eventually turned again and headed for the exit where it lunged at a passing runner before suddenly collapsing in front of the incredulous crowd inside the bullring.
The bull-minders tried to get the animal on its feet again, while at the same time, they closed the entrance gate so as to prevent any more runners from coming in. This situation caused some confusion among the arriving runners who were accompanying the remaining bell-oxen which are used to “sweep-up” any potentially loose bull along the course.
Once the gate was reopened again, the bull-minders and dobladores moved the dead animal, after covering it with a cape, to the interior of the Pamplona bullring. Not many people among the large crowd were aware of the fact that the animal had died, but the photographers from Sanfermin.com captured the whole sequence of events with their cameras.
Fotos: Miguel Fernández
