Scotland's National Animal Is The Unicorn

Scotland's national animal is the unicorn — official since the 12th century. King William I put it on the royal coat of arms because in medieval myth unicorns were untamable, pure, and could defeat elephants. The English lion and Scottish unicorn now flank the UK royal arms, chained because Scots saw it as dangerous. You can see unicorns carved on Stirling Castle, Holyrood Palace, and even on the mercat cross in Edinburgh. Scotland chose a myth and stuck with it for 800 years.