A bizarre virus is turning ordinary rabbits in the US into grotesque, horned creatures with black, tentacle-like growths sprouting from their faces – and sightings are on the rise.
The mutated rabbits have been spotted multiple times in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Reports date back to 2024, when a resident posted a photo online showing the creature's entire head covered in black, spike-like protrusions.
Resident Susan Mansfield told 9News that she recently spotted a rabbit with black spines or 'quills' around its mouth.
'It looked like black quills or black toothpicks sticking out all around its mouth,' Mansfield said. 'I thought he'd die off during the winter, but he didn't. He came back a second year – and it grew.'
The rabbits are infected by the cottontail papilloma virus (CRPV), also known as Shope papilloma virus, which causes tumors to grow on or near the animal's head.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has urged anyone who sees infected rabbits to stay away and not touch them.
CPW does not believe the virus can leap to other species, such as humans or pets, but is still urging the public to avoid the rabbits and not attempt to help them.
In 2013, a video of another rabbit with Shope papilloma virus (pictured here) captivated viewers online
Wildlife officials have noted that there is no threat to human health, but people are still warned not to touch infected rabbits
Rabbits that contract the virus have often been the source of stories about the mythical 'jackalope', which is a rabbit with antlers of an antelope.
Stories and illustrations of horned rabbits have appeared in scientific books dating back many years, such as the Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique from 1789.
