Jackalopes

Jackalopes are one of North America's most well-known mythical creatures. They are said to be a combination of a pygmy deer and a killer rabbit.

Jackalopes are supposedly shy unless approached. The females can be milked, as they sleep belly up, and the milk is used for medicinal purposes. They can also imitate any sound, including the human voice. Cowboys reported that they could hear their voices mimicked while singing at a campfire. Jackalopes use their mimickry capabilities to escape pursuers, using phrases such as "There he goes! That way!" It has also been said that they only breed during winter electrical storms.

The New York Times credits the story's creation to a hunting outing led by Douglas Herrick in 1932 in Douglas, Wyoming. Herrick and his brother had learned taxidermy as teenagers. After they came home from hunting jackrabbits, Herrick threw a carcass into the taxidermy shop, where it landed next to a pair of deer antlers. The head and antlers were grafted together and sold to a hotel. The jackalope has become a national icon since then. The Douglas Chamber of Commerce issues jackalope hunting licenses. "The tags are good for hunting only during official Jackalope season, which occurs for only one day: June 31 (a nonexistent date as June has 30 days), from midnight to 2 a.m. The hunter may not have an IQ greater than 72."

However, another reason could explain how the jackalope came to be. The Shope papilloma virus is a form of cancer that infects rabbits. The cancer results in the rabbit growing horns on the body, especially the head. The tumors can eventually interfere with the rabbit's ability to eat, causing it to starve to death. I'll spare you all from a photo. So far, there is no cure. The virus was discovered by Richard E. Shope just a year after Herrick created his jackalope head. People might have seen a rabbit with the infection and created the jackalope story.



Cited:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope