It’s true, they do exist!

_Elsa_

‘It’s true – unicorns DO exist, they’re just not quite the elegant, white ponies you imagined… A ground-breaking fossil discovery could prove that the extinct ‘Siberian unicorn‘ lived much later than previously thought – walking the Earth with humans.

Scientists had believed the Elasmotherium sibiricum died out 350,000 years ago, until a fossilised skull was found in Kazakhstan. Clever carbon dating tests (which decide the age of ancient materials), concluded the fossil to be 29,000 years old – meaning the animals roamed the Earth a whopping 321,000 years longer than previously thought! The fossil was found in Kazakhstan recently.

Unfortunately, the Siberian unicorn didn’t quite mimic the mythical creatures found in storybooks – and looked more like a modern-day rhino. 

It was 1.8 metres tall, over 4 metres long and weighed more than 4 tonnes! It was covered in a shaggy coat and earned its nickname from the huge horn that grew out of its forehead – cool! Researchers are now trying to discover how the creature was able to survive so much longer than others of its kind.

“Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refuge, where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range,” said Andrey Shpanski, one of the scientists investigating the fossil. “There is another possibility that it could migrate and dwell for a while in the more southern areas.”’ (Info here) 

Tiffi’s phone rings and it’s Mr. Toffee telling her that he’s on the way home now.  She tells him that she will get dinner started. She will have to get back to her searching after dinner. 

Let’s continue to the next part – National animal of Scotland

Start at the beginning - Do NOT call her a horse!