Calling all wannabe princesses, believers of dreams, horse fanatics and fairy tale connoisseurs …Unicorns are real.Yes, that is a factual sentence.According toU.S. News & World Report, a fossilized skull discovered in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan in 2016 puts Siberian unicorns, orElasmotheriumsibiricum, galloping around the Earth only 29,000 years ago.Elasmotherium sibiricum.GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.A 2016study published in theAmerican Journal of Applied Sciencesabout the find said researchers originally believed the Siberian unicorn died out 350,000 years ago. However, the skull found in Kazakhstan put the formerly mythical creature much closer to humans on the timeline of existence.There is one downside to this exciting information: These unicorns aren’t the all-white, flowing mane beauties of legend — instead, scientists believe the animals looked more like rhinos or pint-sized, one-horned woolly mammoths.GettyAfter examining the fossilized skull, researchers think the Siberian unicorn stood about 6 feet, 6 inches tall, was 15 feet long and weighed around 8,000 lbs. Scientists have yet to figure out how these creatures survived for so long.
Calling all wannabe princesses, believers of dreams, horse fanatics and fairy tale connoisseurs …
Unicorns are real.
Yes, that is a factual sentence.According toU.S. News & World Report, a fossilized skull discovered in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan in 2016 puts Siberian unicorns, orElasmotheriumsibiricum, galloping around the Earth only 29,000 years ago.
Elasmotherium sibiricum.Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
A 2016study published in theAmerican Journal of Applied Sciencesabout the find said researchers originally believed the Siberian unicorn died out 350,000 years ago. However, the skull found in Kazakhstan put the formerly mythical creature much closer to humans on the timeline of existence.
There is one downside to this exciting information: These unicorns aren’t the all-white, flowing mane beauties of legend — instead, scientists believe the animals looked more like rhinos or pint-sized, one-horned woolly mammoths.
Getty
After examining the fossilized skull, researchers think the Siberian unicorn stood about 6 feet, 6 inches tall, was 15 feet long and weighed around 8,000 lbs. Scientists have yet to figure out how these creatures survived for so long.
source: people.com
