Siberian unicorn, Marianna Ochyra, 2017, Oil on Canvas, 100×120 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siberian_unicorn.jpg) CC-by-sa-4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Back in 2012, we published a story about carnivorous unicorns. While the Elasmotherium sibericum was an herbivore, it may have been just as cool as, if not cooler than, these fictitious carnivorous unicorns.
The E. sibericum was more closely related to the modern-day rhinoceros than a horse, but it had a prominent horn that is quite possibly the origin of myths about unicorns.
New research into fossils of the E. sibericum suggests that they existed alongside early humans. And while initial theories suggested that humans could have been responsible for the extinction of animals like the E. sibericum, recent research instead hypothesizes that climate change (specifically an increase in temperatures) destroyed much of their diet, driving them to extinction.
You can read more about these majestic creatures and their demise here.
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