Could a Jackalope Ever Be Found in Southwest Louisiana?

KNGT | Louisiana — I came across something the other day that looked like it had no business being on planet Earth. At first glance, it looked like a rabbit. Then I noticed something sticking out of its head. HORNS. Yep. I had apparently stumbled across the legendary jackalope. Now before you start wondering what kinda stuff I’ve been drinking, hear me out.

A jackalope is basically what would happen if a jackrabbit and an antelope got together and said, “You know what? Let’s confuse people for the next 100 years.” It’s a rabbit with horns. And there’s actually a pretty cool story behind this thing.

What in the World Is a Jackalope?

According to Wikipedia, the jackalope is a mythical creature from North American folklore. It’s usually half jackrabbit and half antelope.

For years, people have seen mounted jackalopes hanging on walls in bars, restaurants, tourist shops and probably a few hunting camps where somebody’s grandpa swears he shot the thing himself.

But the story really took off back in the 1930s.Two Brothers Helped Create the Legend. Douglas Herrick and his brother were hunters and taxidermists in Wyoming.

According to the story, they took deer antlers and attached them to a jackrabbit mount. They eventually sold one to a hotel in Douglas, Wyoming. And people loved it. The brothers started making more of them. These fellas basically took a rabbit, put horns on it and created something people are STILL talking about almost 100 years later.

That might be one of the greatest marketing plans ever created. But Here's Where It Gets Weird. There may actually be a little bit of truth behind some of those old stories about rabbits with horns.

Researchers believe some sightings could have been rabbits infected with something called the Shope papilloma virus. The virus can cause hard growths around a rabbit’s head and face. Which can actually look like horns.

Down here in Southwest Louisiana, we have our own stories about things running around the woods and swamps. Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody whose cousin saw something weird while hunting. And usually it happened around 2:00 in the morning, nobody had a camera, and there may or may not have been a few adult beverages involved. Funny how that works. But I gotta admit, the jackalope is pretty dang cool. Half rabbit. Half antelope. One hundred percent made to hang on the wall and make somebody ask, “What in the heck is THAT?”

Now I’m curious. If jackalopes were actually running wild in Southwest Louisiana, where do you think we’d find them? I’m guessing somewhere around Cameron Parish. We already got mosquitoes big enough to carry off small children. A rabbit with horns wouldn’t even crack the Top 10 weirdest things we’ve seen down here.

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Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells