Jackalope [Fearsome Critter|Cryptid]

Jackalope - [Fearsome Critter | Cryptid] - Latin: “Pedigres Leapusalopus Ineptus”, -Aka: Gooklookus, Jack-Pine Jackalope, Antelabbit, Stagbunnies, Etc.

• About this critter: The Mighty American Jackalope has been a cornerstone of American folklore, tall tales, and myths for at least the last 100 years or so: They are perhaps the most well-known of all Fearsome Critters. Everyone knows the Jackalope!!  Its a hare with horns like antelopes of course!! – This Lanky Lagomorph is often the subject of rogue taxidermy & American kitsch: most often seen hung up on walls of many popular truck stops, pubs & bars! - (Well, at least it used to be a common sight, perhaps not as much these days.) 

Jackalope legends, myths, and yarns often claim that the creature is of fine wit, clever but with an ill temper, it knows how to fight back against hunters and will poke & strike for the kill with its horns! They're often said to be able to mimic human speech, they would often yelling out distractions (often profanities) when chased by hunters. They are known to be able to throw their voice and they'd often surprise cowboys by singing back songs sung by the campfire in a deep smooth bass-like tenor. 

Jackalopes are known by hunters to only breed during thunderstorms, as such a permit is necessary if you're going to hunt them. The easiest bait to trap a jackalope is said to be "hooch" - if you are able to trap a Jackalope, you can extract their milk through their teeth. (its recommended that this only be done by experts, as their bite is quite dangerous.) - "Milk of Jackalope" was a component for a powerful aphrodisiac, often said to be listed as an ingredient in (completely ineffective) potions sold by snake oil salesmen. Jackalopes can range in size from your run-of-the-mill rabbit to the size of a horse!

• A Short list of Regional Variants: The legend of the Jackalope is incredibly widespread across the South Western USA & some parts of Canada; a hand-full of jacks and related lagamorphic lore is as follows:

• 🇺🇸 "Douglas, Wyoming, Jackalopes" - By Doug Harris, 1939. [The Full History about the 'home of the jackalope' is further described below.] The traditional Jackalope taxidermy; famous across America - A variety of the Wyoming Jacks are described on hunting permits: including "Saber toothed" and "Prong horned" varietys.]
• 🇺🇸 "Arizona Jackalope." - Horse-sized Jackalopes which are often depicted as being ridden by "cow punching cowboys." - [Most famously featured on postcards from the 1940s.]
• 🇺🇸 "Texan Jackalope." -  particularly "Big Jacks" which are large enough to tussle with wolves and win, The one described had "sharp barbed wire "horns" wrapped around its ears"` the abnormally large jackrabbit was proudly displayed in an old gas station somewhere between Dallas & Amarillo during the mid-1940s: labelled as a "Jack-ah-lope" - [Described in "Legends History and Yarns along the Texas trails", 1998] 
  
• 🇺🇸 "Phesalope" aka "Flying Jackalope" of the South Dakotan badlands. - a rare variant with the Bird-like body of a pheasant. Incredibly shy, the Jackalope hunting permit mentions that they're capable of soaring at blinding speeds up & over 5000ft! Taxidermies of this variety became quite popular during the 60's-80's.
• 🇺🇸 "Multi-horned Gooklookus." - Multihorned Jackalope encountered in Marion county, Florida in 1911 it was reported to have had 6 horns (plus one that fell off when it was handled, so 7.) - The man that caught it called it a 'Long extinct Gooklookus' - [The humorous article ends saying "But we don't know why he said that..."] - Yet Another 7 horned rabbit appeared earlier in April of 1882 In Waco Texas as well; it was antlered, with seven distinct, well formed horns, six across the forehead and one on the nose, in the style of a rhinoceros. 
• 🇨🇦  "Elkhare" - a Canadian variety of Jackalope; said live wildly in pairs along the remote Parsnip River of northern British Columbia Canada, this variety is said to have mismatched hooved feet & heavier horns. It's thought the Wyoming Jackalope migrated north with the lumber trade and mingled with Sidehill-Gougers. - [as described in "Tall tales of British Columbia" 1983]
  
• 🇺🇸 "Spook Rabbits" of Pennsylvania/New Jersey also known as the ogre rabbits ghostly relatives to the Jackalope they would make hunters dogs run back to their owners with their tails between their legs. [first appearing in papers during the 1890s] only tangentially related (as they're not usually said to have horns.) 
• Not to gloss over or forget the similar 🇸🇪 Skavader & 🇩🇪 Worpletinger, Rasselbock, or Dilldap from both Sweden & German folklore & taxidermy, both predate many of these myths however most of these are usually mixes of any several small animals.] 
• [if you have details about a local regional variant close to you, i invite you to feel free to share it in a comment below this post! See also my Rogue taxidermy page & Lumberwoods museum for even more.]

• History: An 1985 proclaimation from Douglas Wyomings local government claims that the first Jackalope was created by Taxidermist, Doug Harris in 1939, interviews from the time say that even doug had no clue there was such a large number of stories & lore behind the beast which predated his own popular creations. - Other sources say that "John Reid" of Princeton, Ontario Canada, may have made the earliest known “jackalope” prop. - Overall its hard to trace who was 'first' their exact origin as newspapers had been reporting about them as early as 1890's, rabbits with horns have been also featured much earlier back to medieval texts...

[*the gooklookus article - Jefferson Jimplecute, January 20th 1911]

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania), December 15, 1912, image source.]

Regardless, of who did it first, The city of Douglas Wyoming recognizes itself as 'the home of the jackalope' where it is used as the town symbol & mascot! The city annually hosts a yearly "Jackalope days" Festival in June.

[The legend of jackalope - From Wyoming's website] 

One can also check out what a Jackalope hunting permit looks like which the government makes publicly available for purchase, however, Tourists who purchase these permits are often surprised (& maybe disappointed) to learn they may only hunt the creatures "on the 31st day of June, between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m ] - “W.S. 43-I-113 permits a duly licensed non-resident to hunt only the “Pedigres Leapusalopus Ineptus”, known as the "pronghorn" jackalope. It can readily be identified as having the size, shape and color of a jackrabbit with horns similar to the pronghorn antelope or smaller deer. Non-residents are warned and forbidden by law to hunt the larger and endangered “Leapusalopus Incisorous Maximus”, the saber-toothed jackalope. These are distinguished by being much larger (100 - 150 lbs), having foot-long fangs, and are extremely vicious.” - I'd assume the larger 'saber-toothed jackalope' - “Leapusalopus Incisorous Maximus is referring to the ridable ones.

[in 1986 a mounted jackalope was gifted to president Reagan.]

• Despite all of the fun and tall tales: the Jackalope as a cryptid, also have the distinction of being a matter of fact: REAL!! – (science has acknowledged this since around the mid-1930's.) – Cotton tail rabbits growing horns actually isn't too uncommon IRL but Sad to say: this fun fact is not very fun, as the horns are a terrible sign, tumours from the Shope papilloma virus [Warning: kinda graphic past that link.] - The rabbit will sprout black horn-like tumors all over their bodies (most often on their heads.) Sadly, it IS a disease & these tumors are just NOT at all useful in combat. (They are in fact a pain/disadvantage to the host, often making it so they cannot eat.) - It's sad, but worth mentioning, as it's thought that sightings of infected horned rabbits were inspiration for horned hares like the Jackalope. - Similar horned rabbits have also appeared across various medieval texts & tomes. - [some Jackalope puritans claim that the creature must be born with 'natural horns' to count as a "True Jackalope."]

• See also: Rogue taxidermy Jackalope, Phesalope, Elkhare, Spook Rabbits, Skavader, Worpletinger, Gunni, Dingbat.