Get Your Unicorn: Fabulous Mythical Animal Taxidermy Sale

See the Slideshow here.

From the article:

The fictional menagerie of deceased critters also boasts an extended sausage dog, furry fish, mermaid and a bizarre bat-like winged beast with webbed feet.
They formed part of a museum of taxidermy that has closed and now are to go under the hammer.
They were billed in the 19th century as having been brought to the UK by fictional adventurer Professor Copperthwaite.
Some Victorians might even have believed these impossible creatures existed because some, like the Siamese sheep, were real.
Others such as the Jackalope - a nearly extinct antlered species of rabbit "found almost exclusively on the high plains of Wyoming" - were not.
The mermaid was said to have been purchased from a man in Calcutta from a Japanese sailor and the unicorn is labelled "Monoceros unicornis."
And the "cheasant" or "phicken" was said to be a cross between a domestic fowl and ornamental pheasant.

Wow. A "real" jackalope. We all know what's on my Halloween gift list.

Book: The Natural History of Unicorns

Are you a fan of unicorns? If so, a trip to the library to check out "The Natural History of Unicorns," by Dr. Chris Lavers. Here's a small excerpt from the website of Harper Collins.

For over two thousand years, unicorns have inspired, enchanted, and eluded humanity. The beast appears in Old Testament texts and Greek and Roman natural histories; Christians adopted it as a symbol of Christ, the Middle Ages as a symbol of courtly love. There was a brisk trade in unicorn parts n miieval and Renaissance times, and travelers regularly reported sightings into the modern era. But by the early twentieth century the real-life contenders for the beast had been ruled out, and scientists concluded that the unicorn never existed. It turns out they were a bit hasty.

Where did the unicorn come from, and how was it accepted as a part of the animal kingdom for so long? Chris Lavers argues that although the unicorn of our imagination isn't real, traces of its character can be found in existing species....

Case in point: the deer, shown above, which was born at a nature preserve in Prato, Italy, last year. Here's an excerpt from the above linked article at msnbc:

"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."

We can't wait til news of this reaches Walla Walla. Lulu will be so excited.