The unicorn is a mythical animal with the body of a bull, horse or goat and one long, straight horn on its forehead. The unicorn is a symbol of purity and virginity.
An unusual inhabitant of a Chinese farm
On December 2, 2010, in eastern China, in the Baoding City District (Hebei Province), a cow was shown to local residents … with a horn in the middle of its forehead! Some immediately recognized her as a living (and healthy) proof of the reality of the existence of unicorns.
Two years ago, a heifer was born on the farm of Jia Kebinga. Immediately after her birth, the owner of the farm discovered a strange growth on the forehead of the animal. But the owner could not have imagined that after two years this "bump" would turn into a real horn more than 20 centimeters long. However, she grew, and with her the popularity of the unusual heifer grew. At the same time, no one was embarrassed by the fact that the animal also grew two normal "standard" horns, which made it more likely not a unicorn, but a troicorn.
For the owner of the farm, this three-legged wonder of nature has truly become a cash cow in every sense.
“Thanks to my cow, our farm is well known throughout the area,” says Kebing. "People come here and pay just to see the animal."
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Brief information about "prototypes"
However, the mentioned cow is only one representative of a rather numerous company of so-called unicorns, reports of which many centuries ago began to appear in myths formed by different peoples. Here is a list of several real creatures that were at one time identified with the mythical unicorn.
Oryx (aka oryx) is a representative of the bovid antelope group. The oryx has two thin, almost straight horns up to a meter or more in length, growing up and slightly backward directly from the forehead. If you see an antelope from a not very close distance and "in profile", then it may well be mistaken for a horse with one horn.
Eland (aka canna) is another type of antelope with long straight horns. Cannes have great physical strength.
A rhinoceros from the island of Java, which in the 13th century was mistaken for a unicorn by the famous traveler Marco Polo who visited this island.
Narwhal (another official name is unicorn) is a large marine mammal of the dolphin family, up to six meters long. In males, only the left tusk is developed, reaching three meters.
Unicorns - myth or reality?
However, can land unicorns be called exclusively mythical, fictional creatures?
Many researchers from relevant fields of science answer this question in the affirmative. But not all.
So, according to Keridwen Fallingstar, a well-known writer in the United States and a zealous adherent of magic, some reports of such animals were transmitted along with transnational teachings about shamanism.
“The stories about one-horned goats or cows are most likely to come from Assyria, a state located in what is now Iraq,” Keridwen said. “They used special methods of raising these animals. The result of such cultivation was the displacement of the primordial horns to the middle of the forehead, and subsequently one long horn grew out of them (here it is appropriate to recall that in the unicorn narwhal only one tusk out of two develops and grows, with
A unicorn walking by dreams of good luck. If in a dream you feed him from your hand, fate prepares you an expensive gift without any outside interference - at least in times known to us - approx. ed.).
The writer also believes that animals with displaced horns had a greater natural aggressiveness, and their herds were easier to look after. According to Fallingstar, a similar "technology" was used by Oberon Zell, a modern pagan shaman who raised several unicorns from goats that traveled around the world with circuses.
However, it seems unlikely that any of the mentioned mythical unicorns was born using the method described above or was a representative of two-horned animals, in which, for some reason, only one horn grew.
The main criterion is practice
But let us ask ourselves a fundamental question: can a unicorn be a cow?
The American researcher Greening answers this question in the following way: from the point of view of anatomy, a Chinese farmer's cow should be recognized as a three-horned animal. “But it looks like her main horn is in the middle of her head,” Greening says.
The researcher is sure that the best test of whether this unusual cow is a genuine unicorn should be the results of communication with her of those people who come into contact with the animal: “Here we will deal with the reality of human experience. Do not forget that it is the reaction to the appearance of this creature and to touching it that turns it into a mythical unicorn."
Greening explains that in ancient times, people attributed to unicorns possessing many magical, miraculous abilities. For example, these creatures could distinguish intruders from innocent people, heal the sick, and even restore virginity to women. Therefore, first of all, you should check whether any of the mentioned miraculous phenomena took place among people who came into contact with the famous Chinese cow.
And be patient while waiting for reliable information.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №7. Author: Ilya Konstantinov