The Monster Makers: Jenny Hanivers and Other Fabricated Monsters - Page 3

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Sep 12, 1999

Among Dove's documentation were descriptions from Africa, dated 1796, and Nepal, dated 1921, of similar techniques applied to sheep and cattle by locals in order to increase the animals' natural defense. Perhaps, Dove suggested, some of the early descriptions of unicorns, such as those in Pliny the Elder and Ctesias, resulted from sightings of such cattle. However, photographs of Dove's "uni-cows" reveal them unromantically to appear as the ordinary, albeit oddly-horned bulls that they are.

Although contemporary society's increased scientific literacy has made it increasingly difficult to create false evidence of fabulous creatures, both the desire to believe and the desire to trick remain strong human impulses. Contemporary hoaxes involving false evidence of alien landings or Sasquatch sightings, and even more elaborate scientific hoaxes, such as Piltdown Man, demonstrate the need to exercise caution when examining "evidence" of the existence of strange beings.

(1) For pictures and further information on the "unibull" experiment please consult:
Hathaway, Nancy. The Unicorn. New York:Avanel Books, 1980.

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