In Bavarian folklore, a wolpertinger (also called wolperdinger, poontinger or woiperdinger) is an animal said to inhabit the alpine

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 forests of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It has a body comprised from various animal parts — generally wings, antlers, tails and fangs, all attached to the body of a small mammal. The most widespread description is that of a horned rabbit or a horned squirrel.

Stuffed "wolpertingers", composed of parts of actual stuffed animals, are often displayed in inns or sold to tourists as souvenirs in the animals' "native regions". The Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum

Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum

The Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum is a museum exhibiting objects connected with the history of hunting and fishing in Germany or other territories which nowadays belong to it.-Location:...

 in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany features a permanent exhibit on the creature.

It is similar to other creatures from German folklore, such as the Rasselbock of the Thuringian Forest

Thuringian Forest

The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...

, or the Elwedritsche

Elwedritsche

The Elwetritsch , plural Elwetritsche or Elwetritschen, in Latin bestia palatinensis) is a birdlike mythical creature which is reported to be found in South-West-Germany, especially in Palatinate. The Elwetritsch can be seen as a local equivalent to mythical creatures of other regions, i.e...

of the Palatinate region, which is described as a chicken-like creature with antlers; additionally the American Jackalope

Jackalope

The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail . The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope". It is also known as Lepus...

, as well as the Swedish Skvader

Skvader

The skvader is a Swedish fictional creature that was constructed in 1918 by the taxidermist Rudolf Granberg and is permanently displayed at the museum at Norra Berget in Sundsvall. It has the forequarters and hindlegs of a hare , and the back, wings and tail of a female wood grouse...

 are in ways similar to the Wolpertinger.

External links

• Wolpertingers in of Bayerischer Rundfunk
  Bayerischer Rundfunk
  Bayerischer Rundfunk [Bavarian Broadcasting] is the public broadcasting authority for the German Freistaat of Bavaria, with its main offices located in Munich. BR is a member of ARD.- Legal foundation :...