Wolpertinger

image Wolpertingers come in many varieties, but, generally speaking, they are small mammals with a body resembling that of a rabbit or squirrel, but also having antlers, fangs, and feathered wings. Occasionally they have the webbed feet of a duck.

Wolpertingers are usually found in the forests of Bavaria. (It is common for Bavarian pubs to display stuffed wolpertingers.) Variant regional spellings of the name include Wolperdinger, Woipertinger, and Volpertinger. They are part of a larger family of horned mammals that exist throughout the Germanic regions of Europe, such as the Austrian Raurackl (which is basically identical to the wolpertinger), the Thuringian Rasselbock (which looks more like the American jackalope), and the north Hessian Dilldapp (kind of hamster-like). They're also related to the Swedish Skvader, as well as being a European cousin of the Jackalope.

Images of creatures resembling wolpertingers have been found in woodcuts and engravings dating back to the 17th century. However, there's debate over whether these are images of wolpertingers or of rabbits infected by the Shope papillomavirus (a virus that causes bony tumors to grow on the rabbit's head and body).

The best way to catch a Wolpertinger, according to legend, is to be a beautiful young woman (or be in the company of one), since Wolpertingers have a weakness for female beauty. The woman should go out into a forest at night while the moon is full and find a secluded nook where a Wolpertinger is likely to be. Hopefully, the creature will soon reveal itself. When it does the woman should expose her breasts. This will cause the Wolpertinger to instantly fall into a stupor, allowing it to easily be bagged.



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Comments

In Bavarian pubs
There are stuffed wolpertinger
caught in German woods
Posted by J  on  Mon Nov 20, 2006  at  01:50 PM
A gentle presence...
Is that a Wolpertinger?
Quick, Jane, show your breasts!
Posted by Koshachey  on  Wed Feb 13, 2008  at  01:19 PM
poor wolpertinger,
so humble and so modest
sasquatch gets the press.
Posted by Bill J.  on  Mon Mar 17, 2008  at  04:45 PM
wolpertinger you
lucky dog wolpertinger
wolpertinger you
Posted by hughlinn  on  Fri Oct 03, 2008  at  11:19 AM
These are fake, just like Jackalopes. They're taxidermied parts of animals. Here's an article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolpertinger
Posted by cryptogirl  on  Fri Oct 10, 2008  at  02:02 PM
i killed 9 wolpertingers last night and the whole breast thing is a myth
Posted by keegan  on  Sun Jan 11, 2009  at  03:44 PM
There is a pattern
It is eluding me, though
Wolpertinger-like
Posted by L  on  Fri Aug 06, 2010  at  09:34 AM
These little creatures are cute, oh, and hey, is this story, (containing the breast thingy), written by a man?
Posted by Wolpertinger  on  Thu Sep 09, 2010  at  06:22 AM
My husband is in the US Army and we're stationed in Germany. We're planning to go on a wolpertinger hunt later this month. Any suggestions as to which villages we should try? A wolpertinger would be the best souvenir we could imagine of our time in Germany.
Posted by Danielle H.  on  Sat Dec 04, 2010  at  12:50 AM
Cryptogirl - Wikipedia is NOT the best or most accurate source of information
Posted by The Violet  on  Sun Nov 11, 2012  at  07:03 AM