The Skvader
In a Swedish museum stands a hare with the wings of a game bird. A hunter said he shot one in 1874.
What was reported
The skvader began with a tall tale. In 1874, a hunter from near Sundsvall is said to have claimed he shot a strange animal: half hare, half wood grouse. Nobody believed him, and the story became a local joke.
In 1918 a taxidermist made one, joining the body of a hare to the wings and tail of a female capercaillie, and gave it to the hunter's family. It's still on display in a museum in Sundsvall.
Explanations offered
It's a deliberate joke, in the same spirit as the jackalope of the United States and the wolpertinger of Bavaria. The skvader has become a mascot of the town.
- When
- Made in 1918
- Where
- Sundsvall, Västernorrland, Sweden
- Witnesses
- A hunter's tale, and museum visitors
- Status
- Hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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