Specimen 4
Sex: Female
Species: Uniceras karkadann
Size: Well over 7 feet at the shoulder, about 12 feet in body length.
Weight: Approximately 3.4 tons

The first large animal that the Cryptozoo took on, it was also one of the most difficult wild captures in the establishment's history. Though the research team prefers the common name "Greater Southern Unicorn", the scientific name of the species shows what mythological beast this enormous hooved animal is thought to have inspired--the Karkadann, a much feared figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The real-life counterpart to this ferocious monster is indeed territorial and seems to have almost no "flight response", preferring to fight threats using its immense scythe-like horn and great size. In the legends it is said the Karkadann would only tolerate ringdoves (commonly known today as Collared Doves, or Turtle Doves) in its territory, and while the strictness of their territorial ways was exaggerated they do have a beneficial symbiotic relationship with many types of birds, including Collared Doves. These birds flock to the unicorn's territory to evade predation from animals the much larger herbivore would eagerly drive away, such as felines, wild dogs, humans and mongoose--and the unicorn benefits from the birds removing any parasites from its hide and providing auditory warnings at the approach of a more significant threat.

Though herbivorous, many creatures avoid the Karkadann for its temper. In order for such a large plant-eating creature to survive in the more arid parts of its range, it must establish a large territory to reserve plant life for its own use. If an interloper sneaks in and browses down the foliage the Karkadann has reserved for itself, they are generally attacked and chased out--or killed, if the trespasser refuses to flee. Even Indian elephants are not safe from this boundary--Karkadann have a special aversion to elephants since their browsing is transient, and therefore far more destructive than more smaller herbivores. And since loner elephants usually precede a herd, Karkadann make a point of aggressively pursuing elephants trespassing on their browsing land. If these unicorns end up killing an animal, they typically carry the bodies on the points of their horns, or roll them along with the horn, to the edges of the territory to mark it. As well as letting herbivorous animals known where their line in the sand is, removing the carcasses from the center of their land creates a barrier of scavengeable meat around where these unicorns will raise their young, reducing the chance of wild cats and canines slipping in to prey on juveniles.

This species of unicorn seems to mate for life, with female territories being larger in order to encompass the land of the male in the pair. Overall, females are larger and have longer horns, though both sexes are equally dangerous. They also share the responsibilities of raising young, which are typically born in pairs, rarely in quadruplets--and both sexes are known to lactate when young are present. The lifespan of this species is so far unknown, but Specimen 4 captured from northern Pakistan is estimated to be around 30 years of age.

Unicorns in general are often assumed to be relatives of the horse, but extensive study on the Lesser Southern Unicorn herd and this specimen has shown that these creatures are actually much more closely related to even-toed ungulates. Their taxonomic classification is somewhere between the llama and alpaca family and the more ancient camelidae--more likely closer to camels than llamas. Convergent evolution appears to have given the Greater Southern in particular a robust horse-like figure, but the features of a camelid bovine are still fairly obvious to the well-trained--fighting teeth, cloven hooves, camel-like skull structure and ruminant stomachs.

Specimen 4 must be kept away from any and all other large animals--currently it is secluded in a heavily-barricaded section of the savannah enclosure along with several types of birds native to Northern Indian and Pakistan to reduce stress in the creature. Visitors are not permitted within 20 feet of the enclosure's walls or cage, but are otherwise allowed to observe.