A roe deer with a single horn in the middle of its head has found fame as the "Unicorn" of Tuscany.

The 10-month-old deer was born in captivity at the Centre of Natural Sciences, a nature reserve near Prato.



The 'unicorn' photographed in Tuscany, Italy


While single-horned deers have been spotted before, this particular buck has a uniquely central horn, thought to be the result of a genetic flaw.

"This is a demonstration that the fabled unicorn, which we all know from icons and legends, probably was not just a fantasy.

"It was probably an animal like this one, with a natural anomaly," said Gilberto Tozzi, the director of the centre.

Mr Tozzi added that the twin of the buck has two horns.

The mother of the two deer was brought to the park several years ago after being hit by a car in the Apennine mountains.

The mythical unicorn was thought to have healing powers and was generally depicted as a horse with the cloven hooves of a goat or deer.

The earliest mention of the beast was by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC.

In one notebook, Leonardo Da Vinci suggested unicorns could be captured using a virgin as bait.
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"For the love it bears to fair maidens [the unicorn] forgets its ferocity and wildness and laying aside all fear it will go to a seated damsel and sleep in her lap, and thus the hunters take it," he wrote.

Mr Tozzi said the Tuscan unicorn was also remarkably elusive.

"Our deer might be aware that he is a little different.

"He doesn't let himself be seen very often" he said.

He advised visitors to "arm themselves with binoculars and a lot of patience."

Last year, a hunter in Elma, New York, photographed a stag with a third horn protruding from the front of its head.