Encounter Atlas
The jackalope is a jackrabbit with antlers or horns, and it is a joke rather than a mystery. The American version is usually traced to Douglas Herrick and his brother of Douglas, Wyoming, who in the early 1930s mounted deer antlers on a jackrabbit and sold it to a local hotel. Mounted jackalopes, postcards and souvenirs followed, and Douglas calls itself the home of the jackalope.
Folklorists group it with the fearsome critters, the tall-tale animals of North American lumber camps and ranches that are used to tease newcomers. Tellers say it can mimic cowboys' singing and only breeds during lightning storms.
There is a real-world twist: rabbits infected with the Shope papilloma virus can grow horn-like growths on their heads, and such animals may lie behind older European pictures of horned hares and the Bavarian wolpertinger.
What witnesses report
- A rabbit or hare with small antlers
- Mounted heads in bars and gift shops
- Tall tales told to visitors
Famous cases
- 1932Herrick brothers mount the first jackalope, per the New York Times
Douglas, Wyoming
Seen the Jackalope?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
