> What's the national animal of Scotland?And the answer: Unicorn. Mary, Queen of Scots’ coat of arms at Falkland Palace. Photo credit: NationalTrust for Scotland[https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/the-unicorn-scotlands-national-animal].Amythological horse-like animal with a single horn on its forehead, the unicornhas been featured in stories and artwork around the world for millennia. InCeltic mythology, the unicorn is a symbol of purity, innocence and power. Legendsays they have strong healing powers, using their horns to purify poisonedwater.Though mythological, the image of the brave, independent unicorn has persistedfor millennia. Dating as far back as the ancient Babylonian and Induscivilizations, the unicorn has represented the untamable and the proud – bothimages to which Scots are particularly drawn. As such, the unicorn has been the national animal of Scotland since around themid-1500s. In the age of heraldry – the period in which groups of people couldbe distinguished by a crest or coat of arms – the unicorn was introduced to theroyal seal. However, when King James VI of Scotland also became James I ofEngland, he replaced one of the unicorns with the national animal of England,the lion, as a display of unity between the two countries. These two "kings ofbeasts" were immortalized, forever locked in a battle for the title. Did you know?The first known depiction of a unicorn, found in the Lascaux Caves of modern-dayFrance, dates to around 15,000 BCE. Or so people thought, until they realizedthat the so-called Lascaux unicorn had two horns, drawn confusingly closetogether.