Humans have seen real-life unicorns. That's the conclusion of the United Kingdom's National History Museum in London, which determined that the Elasmotherium sibiricum, a species known as the "Siberian unicorn," co-existed with humans.
The NHM's study showed that the Elasmotherium survived for far longer than scientists had previously believed. It was general consensus that the magnificent animal, which weighed up to up to 3.5 tonnes (7,716 pounds) went extinct 200,000 to 100,000 years ago. However, new radiocarbon dating shows that Elasmotherium was made up of much heartier stuff, allowing for its survival. Scientists now believe that the species survived until at least 39,000 years ago, possibly as late as 35,000 years ago.
"This megafaunal extinction event didn't really get going until about 40,000 years ago," Adrian Lister, Merit Researcher at the NHM, said in a press statement. "So Elasmotherium with its apparent extinction date of 100,000 years ago or more has not been considered as part of that same event."
"We dated a few specimens - such as the beautiful complete skull we have at the Museum - and to our surprise they came in at less than 40,000 years old," meaning the species shared its final days with early human hunter-gatherers.