Giant “unicorns” don’t just trot around in fantasy novels and films — they once roamed the Earth and may have crossed paths with humans, researchers said.
Russian scientists discovered that so-called “Siberian unicorns” — a type of rhinoceros — didn’t go extinct until much later than previously suggested, according to the American Journal of Applied Sciences.
Researchers at the Tomsk State University in Russia analyzed bone fragments of the horny beasts discovered in what is now Kazakhstan and determined that the remains were about 29,000 years old — disproving a theory that they had gone extinct more than 350,000 years ago.
That would mean modern humans — a human fossil found in Siberia in 2008 was dated to 45,000 years ago– may have encountered the massive creatures.
The new findings are based on radiocarbon dating used on the creature’s skull and teeth.
The “unicorns,” whose scientific name is Elasmotherium sibiricum, could be as tall as 7 feet, stretch 15 feet long, and weigh up to 10,000 pounds, according to Forbes.
Lead researcher Andrei Shpansky said the behemoths kept on the move to survive the frigid Siberian weather.
“Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refugium where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range,” he wrote. “There is another possibility that it could migrate and dwell for a while in the more southern areas.”