Siberian Unicorn
Elasmotherium sibiricum
🦏
Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Rhinoceratoidea
Rhinocerotidae
Elasmotherium sibiricum
The Siberian Unicorn — Elasmotherium sibiricum was a colossal Ice Age rhinoceros with a single enormous horn. It roamed the steppes of Eurasia and may have inspired early unicorn myths. Evidence suggests it was hunted by Upper Paleolithic humans in Central Asia.
Description
Elasmotherium sibiricum — Commonly called the "Siberian Unicorn," Elasmotherium was a giant, shaggy-coated rhinoceros that inhabited the open grasslands of Eurasia. This extinct member of the rhinoceros family was around 2.0 meters tall at the shoulder, 4.5 to 5.0 meters in body length, and weighed between 3,500 to 4,500 kg. It likely bore a single massive horn on its forehead — possibly up to 1.5 meters long — though no horn fossils have survived due to keratin degradation.
Unlike modern rhinos, Elasmotherium had high-crowned, ever-growing molars adapted for grazing tough steppe grasses. It was a specialized grazer, much like modern horses, with a body adapted for long-distance movement over vast plains. Its habitat stretched from Eastern Europe to Siberia, and fossil evidence suggests it may have survived much later than once thought — possibly into the Holocene (~39,000–35,000 years ago), overlapping with early Homo sapiens in Central Asia.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
4500
2.5
3.75
4.5
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Browsers
Hunt History
Though direct evidence of widespread human hunting is limited, Elasmotherium lived during a time when Upper Paleolithic humans were spreading across the Eurasian steppe. It’s likely that early humans opportunistically hunted weakened or solitary individuals, especially as large-bodied prey became increasingly scarce. Its massive size and formidable horn made it difficult to hunt directly, but trap-based or ambush techniques may have been used.
Three Earliest Archaeological Finds with Possible Human Predation Evidence:
Kostyonki-Borshchyovo Complex, Russia — This Upper Paleolithic site contains Elasmotherium remains alongside human artifacts, dated to around 39,000–35,000 years ago.
Aral Sea Region, Kazakhstan — Fossils of Elasmotherium found near evidence of Paleolithic tool use suggest humans may have scavenged or hunted the animal.
Trans-Ural Steppe Sites — Several steppe sites across Russia contain mixed assemblages of megafauna and human tools, with Elasmotherium remains possibly among them, though clear cut-mark evidence is still under study.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
39000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Europe
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
6
Est. Renderable Fat
270
kg
Targeted Organs
Hump/back & visceral fat
Adipose Depots
Subcutaneous back/shoulder, visceral; marrow
Preferred Cuts
Dorsal hump fat & marrow
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
5