Jackalope
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The jackalope — also called an antelabbit, aunt benny, Wyoming thistled hare or stagbunny — in folklore is said to be a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope (hence the name), goat, or deer, and is usually portrayed as a rabbit with antlers. Some believe that the tales of jackalopes were inspired by sightings of rabbits infected with the Shope papillomavirus, which causes the growth of horn- and antler-like tumors in various places on the rabbit's head and body.[1]. On the other hand, the human imagination has often delighted in creating composites made from two or more animals (such as the griffin and chimera), and does not really need a logical reason to do so. One common southwestern species of jackrabbit is called the antelope jackrabbit, because of its ability to run quickly like an antelope; it would have been easy enough to imagine instead (for comic effect) that this jackrabbit had the horns of an antelope.
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[edit] History
The jackalope legend in the U.S. is attributed by the New York Times to Douglas Herrick (1920–2003) of Douglas, Wyoming, in 1932. Postcards showing jackalopes were also sold in the U.S. in the 1930s.
Herrick and his brother Ralph had studied taxidermy by mail order as teenagers. A 1930s hunting trip for jackrabbits led to the idea of a Jackalope, according to the Douglas, Wyo., Chamber of Commerce [2].
The brothers returned to their taxidermy shop following the hunting trip. Herrick tossed a jackrabbit carcass into the shop. The rabbit slid across the floor, coming to rest next to a pair of deer antlers. The accidental combination of animal forms sparked Douglas Herrick's idea for a Jackalope, according to the chamber.
However, the legend of Horned hares also abounded in European and, particularly, German and Austrian, legends as the Raurackl, Rasselbock and Wolpertinger. These legends were possibly inspired by Shope papilloma virus-infected rabbits with fibrous growths which can resemble horns when they occur on the animal's head. The many illustrations of horned hares shown in scholarly works by European naturalists in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, may have been similarly inspired. -
[edit] Legend
The legend of the jackalope has bred the rise of many outlandish (and largely tongue-in-cheek) claims as to the creature's habits. For example, it is said to be a hybrid of the pygmy-deer and a species of "killer-rabbit". Reportedly, jackalopes are extremely shy unless approached. It has also been said that the jackalope can convincingly imitate any sound, including the human voice. It uses this ability to elude pursuers, chiefly by using phrases such as "There he goes! That way!". It is said that a jackalope may be caught by putting a flask of whiskey out at night. The jackalope will drink its fill of whiskey and its intoxication will make it easier to hunt. The legend also states that the jackalope also bred with a camel to form the jacamelope. It is also legend that the Cherokee Indians would eat these at the end of a vision quest. It has also been said that jackalopes will only breed during electrical storms with hail, explaining its rarity. The jackalope is the product of the mating of a male jackrabbit with a female antelope.
[edit] Humor
In the American West, mounted heads and postcards of jackalopes are a popular item in some novelty stores. Jackalope legends are sometimes used by locals to play tricks on tourists. This joke was employed by Ronald Reagan to reporters in 1980 during a tour of his California ranch. Reagan had a rabbit head with antlers, which he referred to as a "jackalope", mounted on his wall. Reagan liked to claim that he had caught the animal himself. Reagan's jackalope hangs on the ranch's wall to this day.
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
[edit] Television & film
- A jackalope character named Swifty Buckhorn appears as a supporting character in the 1992 ABC animated television series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa.
- A jackalope appears in the episode "Appa's Lost Days" in the Asian-influenced animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. What is especially notable here is how well this happens to fit into the Avatar world, which contains an animal kingdom almost totally consisted of animal hybrids.
- A jackalope is featured in the feature-length animation Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000) when Scooby and Shaggy follow it to the hole where the fake aliens are digging up gold for profit.
- A jackalope, voiced by Dave Coulier and officially named "Jack Ching Bada-Bing" after a viewer contest to come up with a name for the character, was featured in the U.S. television show America's Funniest People. The character would laugh a lot while playing mean tricks on people (usually to punish those who had themselves been mean to others). Its catch-phrase was "Fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me!" It was also featured on the very first show produced for Nickelodeon, Out of Control, which was (like America's Funniest People) hosted by Coulier.
- The "mousealope" (a play on the jackalope) was used in an episode of Pinky and the Brain as a key part of one of Brain's plots.
- Pixar Animation Studios created a short film, "Boundin'", that features a wise, nameless jackalope as a main character.
- A jackalope appears in the 2006 animated film Open Season.
- In the episode 'Kindred Spirits' of the Nickelodeon cartoon, "Danny Phantom", while Sam and Tucker are in the Specter Speeder above Colorado, Tucker looks out the window and points out a jackalope, as well as a mongoose.
- In Jackie Chan Adventures Episode 59 (Rabbit Run), the noble rabbit was disgused as a Jackalope to be the mascot of an American football team in Wyoming
- In Reno 911! while discussing constellations, Deputy Junior makes references to the "Jackelope" constellation.
- In "Waiting", there is a Jackalope on the wall of the restaurant "Shenanigans"
- The PC game "Sam and Max hit the road" features a Jackalope on the cover
- A stuffed jackalope appears in Frasier (next to Martin Crane's armchair); Niles refers to it as "Texas' answer to the Minotaur".
- There is one located in the attic of the Claude Pepper Center in Tallahassee, FL.
- Carson Daly gave comedian Harland Williams a mounted jackalope head when he appeard on Daly's late night talk show.
- Tiny Toons's "The horror of slumber party mountain", they refer to it as "the one eyed Jack"
[edit] Music
- On the album The Big Eyeball in the Sky by Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains one of the instrumental tracks included is titled Jackalope
- A Canadian industrial music band has named itself for the animal, using the spelling Jakalope.
- Japanese band Shonen Knife wrote an English-language song called "Jackalope" for their album Happy Hour.
- Country musician Steve Earle recorded a song called "Creepy Jackalope Eye" with The Supersuckers on his album Sidetracks. The original appears on their album La Mano Cornuda.
- Latvian post rock band Soundarcade named their album "12 Songs of the Jackalope" [3]
- The band Clutch wrote and recorded a song called "Day of the Jackalope" for the album "Slow Hole to China".
[edit] Sports
- The Odessa Jackalopes is a minor league hockey franchise affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers located in Odessa, Texas.
[edit] Games
- In the Real-Time Strategy game "Age of Empires 3" jackalopes appear as a treasure called "The Elusive Jackalope", which can give whoever gets it 240 XP (experience).
- A jackalope was featured on the cover of Sam & Max Hit the Road, a computer game. Within the game, when Sam sees jackalope figurines in a kitschy roadside shop, he calls them "the bastard pets of Piltdown Man."
- A jackalope character appears in the first chapter of the computer game King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride.
- The jackalope appears as a monster in the roleplaying game Deadlands, where it has the power to cause bad luck.
- In Rampage: Total Destruction there is a monster known as Jack the Jackalope.
- There are hordes of jackalopes to shoot at in Redneck Rampage Rides Again.
- In Urbz: Sims in the City the main character can create a jackalope on a DNA island as a pet.
[edit] Print
- One of the characters in the comic strip Bloom County was Rosebud the Basselope, an antlered Basset hound.
- In JT LeRoy's novel Sarah, 'prostitutes who ply their trade at truck stops' make pilgrimages to "Holy Jack's Jackalope" in the backwoods of West Virginia to avail themselves of its miraculous powers.
- In Charles de Lint's book Medicine Road, one of the main characters is a jackalope who was transformed into a woman.
