It is believed that the first jackalope sightings on United States soil first occurred while lonesome cowboys were relaxing at the end of long hard day on the range and singing songs around their campfires. Now that would probably have been around and near Douglas, Wyoming.

The origin of the American Jackalope is attributed to Douglas Herrick, a native of Douglas, Wyoming. Why it must be true for he had a great reputation as one fine taxidermist. Jackalope have literally popped up everywhere. Since the 1930s in magazine articles have been written, movies made, found for sale in gift shops, truck stops and in plenty of taxidermy shops. Douglas even has an annual festival, Jackalope Days, held every June. In 1965, the state of Wyoming trademarked the name and you can even buy hunting licenses, good between midnight and 2 a.m. on 31 June any year. In 1985, Governor of the State of Wyoming, proclaimed Douglas to be the “Home of the Jackalope.” Like snipe hunts, jackalope hunts have been used as a ritual form of hazing in rural communities. When you see a jackalope what you are most likely to find is a jackrabbit mounted with the antlers of a young antelope or deer.

On an interesting side note, Jackalopism, is created by a naturally occurring North American disease in rabbits called papillomatosis, where certain growths caused by a parasite harden. A papillomavirus is the same sort of disease that causes the growth of warts on humans. The disease is very common in cottontails. When such growths occur on the top of a rabbit’s head, they may resemble horns, thus leading to the birth of the Jackalope legend.