Ancient Jackalope
Most people who hear about the infamous “jackalope” will find them to be completely mythical. However, as we’ve already proven, sometimes there is some truth behind the myth. Jackalopes are creatures that have the body of a jackrabbit but contain the horns of an antelope. What this looks like will usually depend on the source. Due to being mostly part of North American folklore, people tend to put deer-like horns on them as well as some that resemble an Elk’s horns. A lot of this would be problematic for the average jackrabbit we know today, considering these horns would be far too top-heavy for them.
However, to the surprise of everyone….the jackalope was proven to be real. Well, sort of. Archeologists came across the bones of an extinct jackrabbit that appeared to have horns. Yet further research found that this deceased jackrabbit along with all others with horns is afflicted with something known as the Shope Papillomavirus, which causes Cottontail Rabbit Papillomavirus of CRPV. This illness causes carcinomas that resemble horns to essentially grow not just on the head of rabbits but all over them. Of course, the horns are nothing like a deer or elk but rather look like what a very young male deer might develop if anything.