Extinct ’Siberian unicorn’ may have lived alongside humans

A species of rhino considered a giant of the Ice Age survived much later than previously thought and likely lived alongside modern humans, according to new research. Scientists believed that the ancient rhino species Elasmotherium sibiricum, known as the 'Siberian unicorn', due to its extraordinary single horn, went extinct between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. However, the new study conducted by researchers from the National History Museum, in collaboration with peers at universities including Oxford, suggests that it survived until at least 39,000 years ago, overlapping in time with the existence of modern humans. Today there are just five surviving species of rhino, although in the past there have been as many as 250 species at different times. Weighing up to 3.5 tonnes, Elasmotherium sibiricum was undoubtedly one of the most impressive. It has long been assumed that this fantastic beast went extinct well before the last Ice Age. Its disappearance preceding the large-scale megafauna extinction which saw the end of the woolly mammoth, Irish elk and sabre-toothed cat, however, a new study has challenged the date of this creatures demise.