Unicorn found in Italy
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:38 pm
Okay, sure it's a deer not a horse, but it isn't that far of a stretch . . .
'Unicorn' deer with rare single horn spotted in Italian nature preserve wrote:ROME - A deer with a single horn in the centre of its head - much like the fabled, mythical unicorn - has been spotted in a nature preserve in Italy.
The one-year-old Roe Deer - nicknamed "Unicorn" - was born in captivity in a park in the Tuscan town of Prato, near Florence. He is believed to have been born with a genetic flaw; his twin has two horns.
Calling it the first time he has seen such a case, an official at Prato's Centre of Natural Sciences said today such anomalies among deer may have inspired the myth of the unicorn.
The unicorn, a horse-like creature with magical healing powers, has appeared in legends and stories throughout history, from ancient and medieval texts to the adventures of Harry Potter.
Experts say single-horned deer are rare but not unheard of - but even more unusual is the central positioning of the horn.