Jackalope
A jackrabbit with deer antlers, a tall tale of the American West first mounted by two taxidermist brothers in Douglas, Wyoming.
Meaning
Ralph Herrick, a taxidermist in Douglas, Wyoming, said that he and his brother Doug made the first jackalope in 1934. Coming back late to their shop one evening, they found a freshly killed rabbit lying beside a pair of antlers on the floor, and Doug said, "Let's mount it the way it is" (City of Douglas, reprinting The New York Times). They sold the first one for $10 to Roy Ball, who put it up in the town's Bonte Hotel, and went on to supply retailers in South Dakota (The Seattle Times, 2003; American Heritage Center).
Jackalopes in Wyoming today
Wyoming's governor Ed Herschler, crediting Douglas Herrick, named the state the jackalope's official stamping grounds (The Seattle Times). In Douglas the chamber of commerce issues thousands of jackalope hunting licences to tourists every year (City of Douglas).
Read next
- Next in Cryptids and folklore creaturesMichigan DogmanAn upright, dog-headed creature of Michigan folklore, made famous by an April Fools' Day song on a Traverse City radio station in 1987.
- In Animal symbolismRabbit symbolismIn Buddhist and Chinese tradition a hare or rabbit lives in the moon; in German and Pennsylvania Dutch custom the Easter hare brings the eggs; in Cherokee stories Rabbit is the trickster. In British folklore a hare crossing your path was unlucky, and witches were said to take a hare's shape.
See also
Kraken, Sea serpent, Loch Ness Monster, Champ (Lake Champlain monster), Bigfoot (Sasquatch), Yeti (Abominable Snowman).
Sources
- The Legend of the Jackalope (City of Douglas, Wyoming), City of Douglas, Wyoming, reprinting an article first published in the New York Times, City of Douglas, Wyoming
- Douglas Herrick, 'jackalope' creator, dies at 82 (The Seattle Times, 26 January 2003), Myrna Oliver, Los Angeles Times, in The Seattle Times, 26 January 2003, The Seattle Times
- Tall Tales and Other Oddities – The Fabulous Jackalope of Wyoming (American Heritage Center), American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, 3 March 2025, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols formed from curves and waves.
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 28, 2026. How we research
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