If you happen to be out and about in Colorado right now, you may be surprised by some of the wildlife roaming the wilderness. Indeed, rabbits have been spotted with strange tentacle-like protrusions growing from out of their heads, resembling small horns. This is due to a virus that is seeing a resurgence in the local area, with many residents in Fort Collins taking pictures of bunnies infected with the peculiar virus, and sharing the pics to social media. Specifically, the virus is known as cottontail rabbit papilloma virus (CRPV), which is also known as Shope papilloma virus (SPV),
In a news bulletin from NBCNews, the reporter — Amanda Gilbert — described how a Colorado local named Susan Mansfield had spotted one of the infected bunnies in her yard, saying, “He had the same black stuff on him and I thought he would die off during the winter but he didn’t, he came back a second year.“
Interestingly, according to the news outlet, “Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirms this is a virus that’s not contagious to other animals like people’s dogs. But they say leave this wildlife alone like you would with any of the neighborhood bunnies.”
Ending the news bulletin, Gilbert explained, “They said these growths are kind of like benign cancer cells, or like warts that just keep growing. They said that they don’t harm the rabbits unless they grow on sensitive areas like the eyes or mouth, which could of course, impact eating.”
Fortunately, as Gilbert alludes to in her report, the DNA virus only spreads between rabbits, typically through bites from insects such as mosquitoes and ticks. Still, the increase in infected bunny sightings recently has sparked a lot of reactions online. Over on Reddit, many users joked about how the bunnies appear like monsters from the acclaimed 2022 action-RPG Elden Ring, with one penning, “Seems like a fell omen to me” and another adding, “Foul Tarnished, in search of the Elden Ring“. Elsewhere, another commenter explained how this is likely the reason where the legend of the jackalope originated from, writing, “It’s basically bunny HPV. That’s where the myth of the jackalope came from: warty “horns” from bunny HPV on their heads.” A fourth commenter remarked, “No no no no no. No Eldritch Bunnies, thank you very much.”
While there is no known cure for the virus, some vets have been known to surgically remove the tumors from infected domestic rabbits. Thankfully, the virus poses no danger to humans and other animals, but authorities still recommend keeping a safe distance.
