Historical Marker
The Jackrabbit
Historical marker location:
Odessa, Texas
( Corner of W. 8th & W. Sam Houston, Odessa)
Marker installed: 1964
True plains Rabbit. Lives only in the west. Burro-like ears gave him his name. color is protective, blending with sand and dry grass. Very long legs make him a swift runner, clocked at speeds to 45 miles and hour. Object of hunts with Greyhounds.
Was prized by plains Indians for food and fur. to white man a reminder of desert-hard life. In drouth and depression, meat source for thousands.
Subject of tall tales. Actual hero of world's only Jackrabbit Rodeo, in Odessa, May 1932.