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Anomaly Research Centre


The Qilin is a Chinese mythical creature, said to resemble anything from a unicorn to a giraffe.

Sarah Page is charged with the task of finding out as much as possible about the Qilin. She comes up with some data to put into Nick Cutter's Matrix. (Episode 3.2)

Also, Sarah and Connor Temple talk to you about the Qilin. (Primeval Evolved)

Due to the Pristichampsus' influence on Ancient Egyptian mythology, it is possible that the Qilin was real in the Primeverse and came through an Anomaly from the past or future. If it is indeed real in the Primeverse, it is probably a Sivatherium, a prehistoric cousin of the giraffe and okapi that looks a lot like the Qilin.

In Myth

According to legend, it was a hooved, scaly, double-horned creature. It was a peaceful herbivore. It could walk on water, and walk through grass without disturbing it; it also took great care not to step on any living things. It protected the 'pure' people, and punished the sinners. It could also breathe fire.

When the Chinese discovered giraffes in Africa, some (including the Emperor) believed them to be Qilins, due to their horn-like “ossicones”, the tessellated pattern on its skin which might be mistaken for scales, and its long legs which could allow it to walk through grass without disturbing it. However, a long neck, surely a feature that would have been noted by the myth-makers, is not present in the Qilin, making a connection between the two doubtful.


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