Jackalope Origins

The Jackalope is one of the most beloved folk figures of the American West. He is a mythical antlered rabbit, the imaginary creature of the cactus country, the trickster figure of the desert and the mountains. The Jackalope is a creature of the kitschy and the playful — the mounted antlered rabbit is a fixture of the tourist shops of the West, the Wyoming license plate is decorated with a small red Jackalope, and the creature is a major figure of the modern American folk tradition of the West.

The Jackalope is, on the surface, a uniquely American figure, born of the American West of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The figure is, however, deeply rooted in older folk traditions, both of the European immigrants who came to the West and of the Native American nations who lived in the West before them. The Jackalope is, in this sense, a modern figure that draws on the older folk traditions of the world.

The European Roots

The Jackalope has clear roots in the older European folk traditions of the fantastical antlered creatures. The German Wolpertinger, the Bavarian mythical creature that is a small rabbit with antlers, wings, and sometimes the feet of a pheasant or the tail of a fox, is one of the great ancestors of the Jackalope. The Wolpertinger is a fixture of the Bavarian folk tradition, and the mounted Wolpertinger is a common sight in the inns and hunting lodges of the Bavarian Alps. The Wolperdinger tradition of the Tyrol, the related Raurackl tradition of Salzburg, and the Dilldapp tradition of the Rhineland are all part of the older German folk tradition of the antlered rabbit.

The Scandinavian Skvader is another important ancestor. The Skvader is a Swedish mythical creature, said to have been constructed by the taxidermist of a Swedish noble family in the early twentieth century. The Skvader has the body of a hare and the wings of a grouse, and the figure is now a major folk figure of the Swedish hunting tradition. The Skvader is preserved in the Boden natural history museum in northern Sweden.

The other European ancestors of the Jackalope include the French Lapin Cornu of the French folk tradition, the Italian Lepre Cornuta of the Italian folk tradition, and the Spanish Conejo Cornudo of the Spanish folk tradition.

The Navajo Antlered Rabbit

The Jackalope also has clear roots in the older Native American folk tradition. The Navajo of the American Southwest have a tradition of the Mą’ii Yázhí (the Coyote’s Little Brother), the small antlered rabbit who is the companion of the Coyote and who plays the role of the trickster’s friend. The Navajo antlered rabbit is a small, swift creature who is said to be able to outrun the wind, and the figure is associated with the hunting tradition of the Navajo people.

The Hopi of northern Arizona have a related tradition of the Sikyatavo, the small antlered rabbit of the older Hopi tradition, associated with the kachina tradition.

The Brothers Hotelling of Douglas, Wyoming

The modern Jackalope tradition of the American West is most closely associated with the two brothers Herbert and Doug Hotelling of Douglas, Wyoming, who are credited with popularising the mounted Jackalope in the 1930s. The Hotelling brothers were taxidermists in the small town of Douglas, in the southeastern part of Wyoming, and they began, in the 1930s, to mount a series of antlered rabbits that they claimed to have caught in the hills and badlands of the region.

The Hotelling brothers’ first Jackalope was, according to the family tradition, a cottontail rabbit that they had mounted with a pair of deer antlers. The brothers sold the mounted creature to a local hotelier, who put it on display in the hotel lobby. The figure was a sensation, and the brothers soon began producing more Jackalopes, which they sold across the West.

The Hotelling brothers were masters of the art of the tall tale, and they would tell their customers that the Jackalope was a real creature of the West, that it could be lured with a bowl of warm milk and a handful of whiskey, that it could sing in a beautiful voice, and that it could outrun a man on a fast horse.

The Hotelling brothers’ Jackalope was soon being sold across the West, and the figure became a major item of the Western kitsch tradition. The figure was adopted by the Wyoming state tourism board, and the Wyoming license plate has featured a small red Jackalope since 1992.

The Great Jackalope Chase

The Great Jackalope Chase is a folk tradition of the American West that has its roots in the hunting tradition of the cowboy country. The Great Jackalope Chase is a competition, often held as a part of a local festival, in which the participants try to catch a Jackalope in a designated area of the countryside. The Douglas, Wyoming annual Jackalope Days festival, held in May, is one of the great Jackalope events of the West. The Wall Drug of Wall, South Dakota, has a major Jackalope display.

The Jackalope in the Modern World

The Jackalope is now a major figure of the modern American folk tradition. The figure is a major item of the Western kitsch tradition, and the figure is now sold across the world as a mounted trophy for the cabin or the dining room. The Jackalope is a major item of the Western folk art tradition, and the figure is a popular tattoo design, pin-up design, and car decal design.

The Jackalope is also a major figure of the modern American gaming tradition, and the figure is a popular video game character. The Jackalope of the Borderlands video game series, the Jackalope of the World of Warcraft video game, the Jackalope of the Skyrim video game, and the Jackalope of the Destiny video game are some of the great modern Jackalope characters.

The Jackalope is also a major figure of the modern American literary tradition. The Jackalope of the Don Marquis archy and mehitabel stories of the 1910s and 1920s is one of the early literary appearances of the figure. The Karen Russell Swamplandia! novel of 2011 includes a Jackalope figure. The Cherie Priest Maplecroft novel of 2014 includes a Jackalope figure.

The Jackalope and the Wider Tradition

The Jackalope is a major figure of the wider mythical creatures tradition of world folklore. The figure is a mythical creature of the same kind as the European dragon, the Thunderbird of the Native American tradition, the Mothman of Point Pleasant, the Chupacabra of the Latin American tradition, the Anansi of West African folklore, the Loki of Norse mythology, the Quetzalcoatl of Mesoamerica, and the many other mythical creatures of the world’s folk traditions. The Jackalope, in this sense, is a uniquely American figure that is also a member of the wider world family of mythical beings.

Sources and Further Reading

Swauger, James L. Rock Art of the Upper Columbia River. Walla Walla College, 1981.
Ravenholt, Albert. The American West: A Natural History. University of Texas Press, 1992.
McGonigle, J. C. Wonders: Tales of the American West (in Mysterious America, 2002).
Jackson, Joseph, ed. American Folk Legends. Walker, 1990.