The jackalope is a cultural icon of the American West and is an animal with a jackrabbit and a deer. The image of the creature can be found on postcards, shot glasses, and other knickknacks. Tourists were able to buy taxidermied and mounted jackalopes for $35 or less.
Is the jackalope real or a myth?
Michael Branch, a professor of literature and environment at the University of Nevada, Reno and author of the book "On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World's," said that there is an element of truth in the legend.
He told Live Science that it was a mythical creature. It has a real relationship to horned rabbits that are stricken with a disease.
What is the difference between rabbits and hares?
Rabbits don't have horns. They can be made to do that by the rabbit papillomaviruses. Branch said that patillomaviruses are common in many species and each type can cause problems. The human papillomaviruses is a prime example.
The growth of a benign tumor out of a rabbit's face or head can be caused by the rabbit papillomaviruses. Branch said that the tumor is most common on the head, but it can grow on other body parts. Some rabbits have tumors that can become tumors.
These growths don't always look the same. They're often asymmetrical and not as majestic as the jackalope. Branch said it was pretty grotesque to tell you the truth. It can look terrible if the disease is severe in the rabbit.
The Shope Papillomaviruses caused rabbits to have horns, according to a study in the journal PLOS One. Most scientists didn't believe that a virus could cause cancer. There was some evidence that the birds were carriers of viruses. Branch said that researchers didn't think it could happen in a mammal. The horned rabbit proved that they were wrong.
He said that it opened up lots of avenues of research to look into what other cancers might be caused by viruses and eventually to work toward the development of a vaccine against them. It allowed researchers to begin creating a vaccine that could reduce the risk of cancer.
Not all rabbits with the Shope Papillomaviruses grow horns, just like not all humans with the same STD. The disease is fatal in rabbits. Branch said that the horns can disrupt the animals' ability to eat.
The jackalope myth may have been inspired by the horned rabbit. The jackalope was born in Douglas, Wyoming. Branch said that the young boys invented the thing on their own. The first mounted jackalope they sold was to a hotel owner.
Branch said that the timing is odd. Shope was working on horned rabbits in his lab at the Rockefeller Institute when the two young boys created the jackalope joke.
Live Science published the original article.
