Jackalopes

"Of all the fierce critters out West, none is more terrifying than the jackalope!"
-Pullirk, Goblin cowhand

"During the The World that Was, magical creatures were common and dangerous. Magic isn't dead but it is much weaker. Some magical creatures simply look unusual, that is all. Jackalopes are curiosities in appearance but they have no special abilities or powers."
Randolph Köhler, historian

"Jackalopes are harmless by and of themselves but they are usually reclusive and unseen. They only allow themselves to be seen when portentous events are coming."
-Eva, the medicine woman

"That's true, my cousin's woman's brother's friend once saw a jackalope, and six month later, he fell from his horse and died!"
-Pullirk, Goblin cowhand

Basic Information

Anatomy

Jackalopes looks like a common jack rabbits with the exception of their prominent antlers.
Most jackalopes that are sighted are roughly ten pounds and two feet long. This is big for an ordinary jack rabbit, but not ridiculously big.
Jackalopes have similar fur colors to ordinary jack rabbits with variations tan, brown, grey or silvery fur. Unverified sightings of pure white or pure black jackalopes are subject of much speculation.

Genetics and Reproduction

"Bof! Jackalopes are rabbits. We all know how rabbits reproduce. Why should jackalopes be any different?"
-Louis, Brettonian farmer

Ordinary Jack rabbits, despite the name, are classified as hares not rabbits. Jack rabbits are generally solitary, usually avoiding others of their kind except during mating season, giving minimal care to their young and cutting them loose relying on breeding large numbers of offspring to guarantee that some survive. Jack rabbit liters tend to number between one and six, and a female can have several liters in a single year.

"Jackalopes are the result of large jack rabbits and small antelopes knockin' boots."
-Vrogak, orc railroad bull

No one has every seen two jackalopes mating. No one has every seen a baby jackalope.

"I cannot prove it, but I reckon that jackalopes are not a separate species but I believe they are mutants. A small portion of ordinarily conceived jack rabbits grow up to be jackalopes.
-Ayemer, elven conjurer and storyteller

Dietary Needs and Habits

Their behavior is pretty indistinguishable from ordinary jack rabbits. They hop around, they graze, they wiggle their nose adorableably, and they are spooked by odd sights and sounds.
They are herbivores and much like the common jack rabbit, they seem to enjoy eating a wide variety of plants. Eye witness accounts of jack rabbits eating carrion are usually considered tall tales as this act was only ever "witnessed" by goblins.
Like common jack rabbits, jackalopes are primarily but not exclusively nocturnal.

Biological Cycle

"If you see a jackalope, get your irons and shoot it dead!"
-Pullirk, Goblin cowhand

"I wonder what jackalopes taste like, I bet they's delicious."
-Vrogak, orc railroad bull

No one has every found a jackalope that died of natural causes. Every dead jackalope seen in the West was either slain by a predator or more likely, a hunter with a gun.
It is rumored that jackalopes are immune to disease and never die of old age, though they are obviously not immortal as they can be slain.

"It is bad luck to harm a jackalope. It is worse luck to bark or stuff a dead jackalope as a trophy. Apparently though, there are no ill effects to mounting a dead jack rabbit and fixin' fake antlers on it."
-Eva, the medicine woman

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

"Let the lesser minds worry about jackalopes. There is no profit in messing with them, dead or alive, so I say leave them be.
-Lordroid Goldmann, railroad baron

"Jackalopes are more than they appear. whoever unlocks their potential will rule the West...or maybe I need to cut back on whiskey and absinthe."
-Doc Bones, necromancer

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Jack rabbits can be found almost everywhere in the New World, but jackalopes seem to have a much smaller range. They are never seen out east and rarely seen up north.

"Jackalope sightings are fairly rare. Goblins report seeing jackalopes heaps more often than most other folk, so either they are good at spotting jackalopes, jackalopes are attracted to goblins or goblins are simply liars.
I reckon it's all three."
-Muddor, Dwarf mining boss

Average Intelligence

"Other than a few crazy goblin tall tales, no one has ever witnessed a jackalope doing anything a regular jack rabbit wouldn't so it seems that they are no more or less clever than ordinary hares.
Then again, there are thousands of rabbit snares in the West and I've never heard of a jackalope being caught in one."
-Ayemer, elven conjurer and storyteller

Lifespan

unknown

Average Weight

10 pounds

Average Length

2 feet