Rare Finds: The Wolpertinger

Commonly called the "Flying Jackalope," the Wolpertinger is a Bavarian variant of the Western American animal. Similar to the skvader and other taxidermy hoaxes, the Wolpertinger is a classic of animal left-overs sewn together from the scraps left after trophies were stuffed and mounted.

While these cryptozoological, mythical, and forgeries have dotted fairy tales and and postcards for decades, like all fantasy they have an origin based in the real world. But unlike mermaids which were more than likely graceful manatees, the Jackalopes were rabbits with warts. Nothing too graceful about warts...

Yep, the story of the jackalope and other horned rodents more than likely spawns from appearances of disfigured wild rabbits with warty growths. A wonderful New York Times article discusses the history of this and how it has led to developments in research into a vaccine for the HPV.

Explaining the wings...well that is a little more a pain in the ass to explain. I blame eating bad mushrooms.