Humans, ‘unicorns’ lived in the same era, study shows

A Siberian unicorn, a long-horned rhinoceros believed to have vanished 350,000 years ago, may have walked the earth’s soil with prehistoric human beings, according to a study.

Academic research published in the American Journal of Applied Science directs a recent discovery of a well-preserved skull in Kazakhstan dating 29,000 years ago, which is believed to be that of an Elasmotherium sibiricum, the Siberian unicorn’s scientific name. The rhinos might have lived from the Don River in Eastern Kazakhstan.

“Most likely, it was a very large male,” said paleontologist Andrey Shpanski of Tomsk State University (TSU).

“”The dimensions of this rhino today are the biggest of those described in the literature.”

The skull had no signs of cracks or brittles and is still in ‘good shape’. Radiocarbon technology was utilized to determine the age of the skull. Various theories of migration and refugee-seeking in the southern region of Western Siberia were the places the ‘unicorn’ walked, according to AFP’s report.

The herbivore rhinos were described as a creature weighing up to 9,000 lbs (4,082 kgs), two meters tall, and five meters long.

Shpanski said the findings conclude that other “mass radiocarbon studies” must be administered to analyze remains of mammals previously believed to be extinct 50,000-100,000 years ago.

‘Unicorn’ fossil studies is yet to prove the existence of ‘unicorns’ during pre-historic times. In 2008, a scientist stumbled upon a discovery of a ‘unicorn deer’ in Italy.

The results of the study have been published in the American Journal of Applied Science. Gianna Francesca Catolico, INQUIRER.net