Do you believe in unicorns?

[The Madame X]

This is for all my friends who don’t believe in unicorns…

See full story and images at:
http://www.lair2000.net/Unicorn_Dreams/ ... _made.html

Man Made Unicorns

In 1906 two unicorn rams [male sheep] were on display at the zoo in London, England. These animals had been presented to the Prince of Wales as part of a large collection of animals from the country of Nepal in Asia. Author Peter Costello says: "There was some mystery about the creatures, for though the rams were unicorns, underneath the horn sheath were found two horn buds. Further inquiries revealed that they were not natural, nor were they freaks, but artificial creations."
May 1936, Dr. Dove discussed an experiment carried out at the University of Maine. Dr. Dove says that separate horn buds (small bits of tissue that later produce horn) can be transplanted in whole or in part to other regions of the head where they take root.

"They develop as true horns ... either solidly or loosely attached to the skull, according to the method of transplantation." In March 1933, an operation was performed on a day - old Ayrshire calf. Two horn buds were transplanted to the center of the calf s skull so that lay side by side over the frontal division of the skull. Since the horn buds are normally round, Dove trimmed them so that they were flat along the sides where they touched. Thus they made closer contact. Dr Dove's fifteen month old unicorn calf. The two horn buds fused together, making a single, solid horn.

"It was expected that the two horns would fuse together into one large horn solidly attached to the skull and located between and somewhat above the eyes, as is the horn of the unicorn." The experiment was successful! At two and a half years old, Dr. Dove reported, this cow used its single horn "as a prow to pass under fences and barriers in his path, or as a forward thrusting bayonet in his attacks." While a two horned animal must make side cuts and slashes, the unicorn can put its full body weight behind its one horn. It becomes almost invincible. Moreover, the unicorn is conscious of its unusual power.

Lancelot, the living unicorn, bred by Morning Glory. In 1980, pictures of a "living unicorn" hit the United States newspapers. To skeptics the animal looked like a goat. But it was no ordinary goat. From the middle of its forehead there did indeed grow a ten inch horn!
Born in California, This goat like creature is an appealing animal, bred of Angora goat stock, so its coat is white and soft. Its name is Lancelot. Lancelot's creators are two naturalists, Morning Glory and her husband Otter G'Zell, who do not hide the fact that they created Lancelot and that its mother was a goat. They describe Lancelot as a true medieval - type Unicorn, with a silken plumed tail, who walks the Earth on dainty cloven hooves, and has a golden horn growing from the center of his brow.
Since the birth of Lancelot, these naturalists have bred other single homed animals which resemble the unicorns on the medieval tapestries. Morning Glory and G'Zell do not go into detail about their methods of achieving one horn on an animal that would ordinarily have two. Nor do they describe the technique they claim to have pioneered for taking away the "obnoxious billy goat stink" that they say contributes to some undesirable behaviors. They do admit to having clipped the unicom's hair to produce a flowing mane, plumed tail, and feathers of hair on the legs. In addition they have "conducted appropriate magical rites, invoking the spirits of Nature and the Horned God, and focusing the light of the waxing Moon onto their [the unicorns'] foreheads through a quartz crystal." All these devices, "and others more subtle, go into the production of a true Unicorn," according to Morning Glory and G'Zell.

They believe so strongly that what they have created is something special that they want to share their unicorns with the world. "A live unicorn could be an international ambassador of good will," they say, "since the unicorn. is a cross-cultural symbol. Lancelot is also the ultimate symbol for endangered species that have made a comeback. "Controversy and outrage developed when Lancelot was put on display with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1980. John Kullberg, then president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, called Lancelot a goat which had been subjected to an inhumane implant of a bull's horn.

Dr. Gerald Toms, a veterinarian with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sent federal inspectors to examine the creatures. They reported that they were goats which had been medically altered as kids to give them each a single horn, but that the horn was living vital tissue. Toms said the goats appeared to have undergone a simple graft in which their own natural
horn was made to grow in an unnatural part of their heads. "If you use anesthesia and it's done by a competent person, it's basically a simple tissue graft," he said. He described their care as "quite good," saying, "Obviously these are valuable animals and they are being treated accordingly."

The anger died down. The circus retained its right to show Lancelot as a feature attraction. Some people still said, "It's just a goat." They thought the public was being deceived. But, "As far as we're concerned," said Debbie Linde, a circus spokesperson, "It's a unicorn. A unicorn is an animal with one horn."

[Wulfsunus]

Unicorn . . . well deer . . . well unicorn





All things exist so long as we consign to the idea of it and have others refer to it the same, wow, sounds like a belief system!

Now isn't the unideer just the most delicious, meant to say cutest critter you have ever seen?




Single-horned 'Unicorn' deer found in Italy

By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 11, 3:06 PM ET

ROME - A deer with a single horn in the center of its head — much like the fabled, mythical unicorn — has been spotted in a nature preserve in Italy, park officials said Wednesday.


"This is fantasy becoming reality," Gilberto Tozzi, director of the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato, told The Associated Press. "The unicorn has always been a mythological animal."

The 1-year-old Roe Deer — nicknamed "Unicorn" — was born in captivity in the research center's park in the Tuscan town of Prato, near Florence, Tozzi said.

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, Tozzi said 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.

"This shows that even in past times, there could have been animals with this anomaly," he said by telephone. "It's not like they dreamed it up."

Single-horned deer are rare but not unheard of — but even more unusual is the central positioning of the horn, experts said.

"Generally, the horn is on one side (of the head) rather than being at the center. This looks like a complex case," said Fulvio Fraticelli, scientific director of Rome's zoo. He said the position of the horn could also be the result of a trauma early in the animal's life.

Other mammals are believed to contribute to the myth of the unicorn, including the narwhal, a whale with a long, spiraling tusk.

[Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan]

[rhen]