What's the national animal of Scotland?

In Celtic mythology, the Unicorn of Scotland symbolized innocence and purity, healing powers, joy and even life itself, and was also seen as a symbol of masculinity and power.

During the reign of King James III (1466 - 1488), gold coins were introduced that featured a Unicorn, and at the time of King James VI of Scotland’s succeeding of Elizabeth I of England, and the resulting effective union of the two countries, the Scottish Royal Arms featured two unicorns as shield supporters. In a gesture of unity, King James replaced the one on the left with the English lion.

More Info: www.scotsman.com

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32 Comments

Margaret O'Neill

Jan Samuel, Sorry to disappoint you Jan, it IS the Unicorn... and I live in Scotland too! Google it!

Sergey Boev

The Unicorn is not the non-existing animal on some countries. The coat of arms of the last Byzantine emperors included a double headed eagle. This symbol was adopted in the coat of arms of Russian empire. Today it is part of the coat of arms of Russian Federation, Serbia and Albania. Also the red dragon on the flag of Wales is another non-existing animal.