Unicorn Rams at London Zoo

In 1906 these two Barwal rams were presented to the Prince of Wales by the King of Nepal, along with many other exotic animals. They were housed in London Zoo and stirred great controversy as to whether they were natural.

In 1911 the Nepalese Prime Minister, Maharajah Chandra Jang, clarified the matter to the British Resident by saying: 'There is no special breed of one-horned sheep in Nepal, nor are the specimens which have been brought here for sale natural freaks. By certain maltreatment, which is described below, ordinary two-horned sheep are converted into a one-horned variety. The process adopted is branding with a red-hot iron the male lambs when about two or three months old on their horns when they are beginning to sprout. The wounds are treated with a mixture of oil and soot, and when they heal the horns, instead of growing at their usual places and spreading, come out as one from the middle of the skull.'