The Pushmi-Pullyu (pronounced "push-me—pull-you") is a "gazelle/unicorn cross" with two heads (one of each) at opposite ends of its body. In The Story of Doctor Dolittle, the grateful monkeys in Africa persuade it to accompany Dr. Dolittle to England to earn money for him (in Doctor Dolittle's Circus and Doctor Dolittle's Caravan). The pushmi-pullyu usually only uses one of its heads to talk, reserving the other for eating (thus allowing it to eat while speaking without being rude) and claims that its great-grandfather was the last unicorn.
In the 1967 film, the pushmi-pullyu was instead portrayed as a double-headed llama. The doctor can immediately speak to the pushmi-pullyu, knowing that llamas speak a dialect of camel language. This is the version that appears in the TV series where he is voiced by Don Messick.
The 1998 Eddie Murphy film has a brief scene where a pushmi-pullyu is walking in the background while Dr. Dolittle talks to the tiger in the cage. This is in keeping with the fact that Eddie Murphy's version is only very loosely based on the books.[4]
