Jackalope

folklore · mythical creature · North America · taxidermy

Jackrabbit plus antelope. A jackalope is a made-up animal that combines a speedy jackrabbit with the long horns of an antelope, existing only in stories and jokes.

Name from two words. The word jackalope comes from smashing together jackrabbit and antelope, creating one silly new word.

Taxidermy trickery. People actually made fake jackalope mounts by taking jackrabbit bodies and attaching deer antlers to them, which tricked some folks into thinking they were real.

Tall tale tradition. The jackalope fits into a long American tradition of exaggerated stories about wild creatures that probably never existed.