The Jackalope; a mythological being constructed of a rabbit and a deer (known to be prey animals).
(Sunny-Jo Nicol, 2026)
This being is a manmade creation, formed by Douglas and Ralph Herrick who stated
“We just throwed the dead jack rabbit in the shop when we come in and it slid on the floor right up against a pair of deer horns we had in there,” Ralph said. ”It looked like that rabbit had horns on it.” (Martin, 2003).
What began as a spontaneous visual coincidence became the foundation for an enduring myth.
From this simple, almost mundane moment emerged the legend of the Jackalope, which went on to circulate widely across North America. Its origins in taxidermy and chance give it a distinctly human authorship, highlighting creativity, fabrication, and the power of imagination to construct belief. As a hybrid of two animals, the Jackalope also embodies transformation, existing between categories, both natural and artificial. In this sense, it becomes a fitting symbol for constructed identities and the blurred boundary between the authentic and the manufactured.