As scientists, we are often asked about the existence of mythical creatures; the yeti, werewolves, dragons, vampires, and the Loch Ness monster.  Our immediate answer, is always to ask for evidence of such animals.  A google search will give you an endless number of blurry photos and reports of suggestive (sometimes drunken) sightings.

There is one animal, which is considered mythological but there has been an indisputable sighting of: the unicorn.  About a dozen years ago, an animal expert in Italy has stumbled upon a young roe deer with a single horn growing from the centre of its forehead. The 10-month old animal is part of a herd of deer, that are otherwise equipped with two antlers, at the Prato natural science centre in Tuscany.  While this does not have the form of the mythical horse-like animal, the resemblance is uncanny.

As an added bonus; why is it called a unicorn and not a unihorn?  Unicorn comes from the old french word unicorne (itself stemming from latin unicornus; which means ‘having one horn’).  Unicorn is an English word of Latin/French origin which literally means ‘one-horn’. It derives from the Latin word ūnus, which means ‘one’, and cornu which means ‘horn’.