Elden Ring makes a less fantastical animal than the real life glow in the dark Springhare

springhare
(Image credit: Future)

Art imitates life in Elden Ring’s cute springhares, but they don’t hold a candle to their real-life counterpart who can glow in the dark.

Elden Ring has a rich fauna of fantastical but also pretty normal creatures, which range from dogs to basilisks. Reddit user u/IamPotato14 brought to everyone’s attention the real-life inspiration behind the Elden Ring springhare, which is an animal also called a springhare. What Elden Ring failed to add though, which would have added to the game's fantasy genre, is the incredible and mind-boggling fact that the real-life counterpart glows in the dark. 

This creature could be mistaken for a fantastical animal because of its hybrid appearance of a kangaroo and a rabbit, and now with the added knowledge of them being able to glow in the dark, it’s hard to believe that they aren’t. They have big haunches and small front legs, along with long tails and fluffy coats. The springhare in Elden Ring is unique to the Lands in Between and is located in the forests and plains of Limgrave or South West Liurnia of the Lakes. Real-life springhares, however, actually live in South and East Africa.

There is apparently no reason as to why the real-life springhare has glow-in-the-dark fur, despite it being its biggest claim to fame. Only four other mammals on the planet have bio fluorescent fur, making it part of quite the exclusive club. If springhares shone in the dark in Elden Ring, players would have a field day harvesting them for their thin beasts' bones and the sliver of meat that they drop. They are skittish in-game and are best targeted with ranged weapons. The real world is not much better for them either, as unfortunately for them, they are extant animals and are prey to 21 other species including humans. In whatever reality they are in, it seems springhares have no peace.

Elden Ring tips | Elden Ring secrets | Elden Ring Classes | Elden Ring Keepsakes | Elden Ring PS4 and PS5 comparison | How to get the Elden Ring horse | Elden Ring Rune farming locations | Elden Ring Summons | Elden Ring stats explained | How to level up in Elden Ring | Elden Ring respec and Larval Tears | Elden Ring merchants | How long is Elden Ring? | Elden Ring cheats | Elden Ring coop and multiplayer | Elden Ring endings | Everything to do in Elden Ring before NG+ | Elden Ring DLC 

Elizabeth Fryer
Trainee News Writer

I have some experience writing for local magazines regarding food reviews and art, as well as currently I am writing a novel. I have a BA in History of Art and Design and publishing, and a keen interest to know more and develop my skills. I am an avid player of PS4. I play games that vary across the genres and styles, mostly preferring the RPG games, rich in lore, mystery and fighting.

Read more
Elden Ring Nightreign
The random events in Elden Ring Nightreign are the funniest thing FromSoftware's ever cooked up, from a rain of ants to Morgott jump scares
Elden Ring
Elden Ring: Nightreign ties the worlds of Dark Souls and Elden Ring together for the first time, as iconic Souls characters make their way to a new "branch" of The Lands Between
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dialogue
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 pays tribute to Elden Ring icon Let Me Solo Her - and the legend himself thinks the Easter egg is "awesome"
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot showing a little magic and skeletal summoning
After 15 years, Elden Ring Nightreign introduces a FromSoftware first: you can stab a dude with an arrow like you're Legolas
Screenshots of battle in Elden Ring Nightreign along with a logo for GamesRadar+'s Big in 2025 features
Elden Ring Nightreign could be the Fortnite of Soulslikes, but probably not for the reason you think
a helmed soldier holds their arm up defiantly
Elden Ring spinoff Nightreign is a co-op roguelike with battle royale and Monster Hunter juice, but FromSoftware says it's "not what we'd consider a live service game"
Latest in Action Rpg
Monster Hunter Wilds characters share a meal
Oh no, Monster Hunter Wilds is so good that I'm already counting the days until its inevitable Master Rank expansion
Diablo 4 season 8 boss
Diablo 4 season 8 is revamping the boss ladder system with new mechanics and bosses, including one of the best from Diablo 3
Monster Hunter Wilds characters share a meal
Monster Hunter Wilds is slowly recovering from a rough PC launch, finally hitting 60% positive reviews on Steam – but some big issues remain
a colourful overworld where a sprite rows a boat through a magical ocean
The follow-up to a weird RPG with Undertale energy and over 10,000 overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews is, you guessed it, another weird RPG that's already flying on Steam
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' next update arrives next week, fixing another progression blocker, crashes, and weird monster behavior
Monster Hunter Wilds Nu Udra Palico
Monster Hunter Wilds players are so obsessed with Palico armor that turns your cute cat into a freaky little octopus that even Capcom is sharing fan art of it
Latest in News
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
A misty, forested mountainside in Prologue: Go Wayback!
PUBG creator's wilderness survival game actually draws inspiration from an unexpected place - a whole raft of zombie games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and Left 4 Dead
The Blood of Dawnwalker: A screenshot of the vampire Brencis holding up a crown during the trailer for the upcoming game.
The Witcher 3 devs created a Jekyll & Hyde-style character for their new vampire RPG "because nobody yet has done that"
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil fans are wondering if Born Again season 2 will set up a darker comic book arc for Matt Murdock