Unicorn Tears

 

Were or are unicorns real?

Many animals (like the dodo bird and dinosaurs) have been extinct for a long time but we do know they existed.

Is it possible that some horse-looking or large animal with a single horn ever roamed the earth?

YES! It’s possible.

Even today we have the rhinoceros and the narwhal, who are single-horn real animals.

        

The Indian Rhinoceros                                                              A Narwhal

But the possibility of a single-horn animal, does not automatically make the animal magical.

When people talk about unicorns, they usually refer to a supernatural being (a white horse with pointy horn) with magical powers.

That, most definitely DOES NOT EXIST.

It is not a creature of the gods, that lives in heaven, and comes to visit earth. Its horn does not purify or cure illnesses.

 

Why do some people believe that such a creature does exist?

Many of the early stories about unicorns come from Persia (modern Iran). As far back as 400 B.C. the Greek historian Ctesia wrote about unicorns being a “single-horned beast that came from India” ^₁. Around 700 B.C. Pliny the Elder also wrote about the “Monoceros”, an Indian beast with a stag’s head, elephant’s feet, boar’s tail, and the rest of the body like a horse. Neither Ctesia nor Pliny ever saw such a creature themselves, but they retold the stories and brought the myth to our Western world.

It is possible that the Indian rhinoceros or the narwhal were mistaken for unicorns. Tales were told and embellished more as people told others and the story got retold.

There has never been found remains or fossils or real evidence of unicorns.

Of course, if unicorns don’t exist, then their tears (and their supposed powers) don’t exist either.

To read more:

-          About the early stories about unicorns and where the myths come from: Today I Found Out.

-          Animals most likely mistaken for unicorns: BBC.com.

-          It’s a deer with deformity: National Geographic.

-          North Korea says unicorns are real (a case where you have to study the source and the reason for the claim, before you believe it): Time.com.

^₁ Hamilton, John. Unicorns and Other Magical Creatures. 2005. ABDO Publishing Company, Edina Minnesota.