The word きりん appears to mean either a giraffe, or the Qilin.
I've noticed that it is written 麒麟{きりん} when it means Qilin, and キリン when it means giraffe. Is it a mistake to write 麒麟 if I mean giraffe? What about キリン if I mean Qilin?
My guess is that キリン giraffe should not be written with kanji, because it differs from their original meaning, while 麒麟 Qilin could be written either way. I also guess this because animal names tend to be written in katakana. Is this guess correct?
(What about the beer, Kirin?)