Scientists search for DNA of an endangered salamander in Mexico City's canals
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Panic spreads over exaggerated claims of 'tentacled' rabbits invading US
Shocking images of rabbits with deformities on their heads are spreading across platforms in posts warning about a mysterious "black tentacle virus" that can infect other species, with some calling for the animals to be shot if encountered. While the affliction is real and stems from a cancer-causing strain similar to the human papillomavirus, experts say it is nothing new and is not dangerous to humans or any other species besides rabbits. "WARNING: 'DO NOT TOUCH!' - RABBITS INFECTED WITH BLACK TENTACLE VIRUS," says an August 14, 2025 Facebook post sharing dramatic photos of rabbits with thick, spiky growths on their heads. "In Colorado, wild rabbits are being found with black, horn-like growths erupting from their heads caused by a mysterious viral infection. Officials warn it can spread to pets through direct contact. #rabbitsinfected #blacktentaclesvirus." The images circulated widely across social media, with some posts suggesting that people shoot the infected animals if encountered in the wild. "If I see tentacles sprouting out of somebody's head because they decided to touch one of the ... rabbits, click clack boom," a person says in an August 13 video viewed over 12,000 times on TikTok. Computer-generated images of bunnies with tentacles coming out of their noses later started spreading online. But wildlife experts told AFP that while the posts reference a real disease, they are exaggerated (archived here). The condition is not new and does not pose a serious threat to humans or other animal species. The reported sightings likely stem from the same few rabbits being spotted by different residents, Colorado wildlife services said, and most rabbits can live normally with the condition, which occasionally clears on its own. Advanced cases of the condition have been documented over the years. AFP was, for instance, able to identify the rabbit in one of the pictures shared online as a taxidermied cottontail from the University of Kansas Natural History Museum's collection by matching the background to that of a photo from a 2015 history blog (archived here). 'Same rabbits' Kara Van Hoose, northeast region public information officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told AFP on August 13 that the pictures likely show an outbreak of Shope papillomavirus in the Fort Collins area (archived here and here). "We have started to take more reports of rabbits in the northern Colorado area affected with the virus since photos were first published last Friday," she told AFP August 13. "We're up to maybe a dozen or so reports, but it's most likely people reporting the same rabbits and not a dozen rabbits infected." The disease, spread through biting insects including fleas and ticks, causes wart-like growths, usually on the face and neck of rabbits. The animals can also clear the virus from their systems on their own in most cases, which remain benign. "We would be concerned only if the growths are on the eyes or impede the rabbit's ability to eat," Van Hoose said. The growths on rabbits have been observed in the United States for well over a hundred years, experts say, and were first documented by Richard Shope in 1933 (archived here). The cases are even thought to have inspired the American myth of the "jackalope" (archived here). "Using historical specimens in mammal collections here at the University of Kansas, we have been able to recover the virus from a hundred-year-old preserved specimen of an eastern cottontail," said Robert Timm, an associate professor emeritus from the University of Kansas who has studied the disease in rabbits (archived here). Not dangerous to humans Timm also dismissed the claims that the August 2025 sightings amount to a "recent invasion" that could threaten humans. "The virus has been in the environment for perhaps tens of thousands of years," he said August 14. Colorado Parks and Wildlife does not recommend killing the infected rabbits if found in nature, but "as with any wildlife, pets should not interact or come in contact with the rabbits," Van Hoose said. Karen Fox, a pathologist at the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (archived here), confirmed the virus does not affect humans, dogs, or cats. Domesticated bunnies, however, are at risk of catching the virus from a wild infected specimen. Fox cautioned the disease "is often more severe in pet rabbits than in wild rabbits." "The best way to prevent infections in pet rabbits is to keep pet rabbits indoors, especially during the summer and fall months when insect activity is highest," she told AFP on August 15. According to University of Kansas's Timm, there are no known cases of this virus ever being transmitted to humans either from mosquitoes or rabbits. AFP previously investigated other claims about wild animals and viruses.
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Unique native Colorado trout species rescued from path of Stoner Mesa Fire
The Stoner Mesa Fire in southwest Colorado has burned around 7,300 acres so far, and biologists are working to protect wildlife in its path. The terrain around the fire is rugged and can be difficult to navigate, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife and San Juan National Forest staff were determined to rescue native species in the area. Both the fire and the retardant used in suppression efforts can pose a risk to local wildlife. Southwest Region Senior Aquatic Biologist Jim White said, "We have seen the impacts fire can have on our rivers, streams and this important fish habitat firsthand. When you've got a rare or unique lineage of fish thriving in an area and suddenly they are threatened by a wildfire, we feel it is important to Colorado's natural heritage to step in and do something to try to save those fish and that lineage." Aquatic biologists and a team of wildlife managers and aquatic technicians made their way down to Wildcat Creek and a small tributary of the Upper Dolores River that's home to a unique type of Colorado River cutthroat trout, known as Uncompahgre Cutthroat Trout. Firefighting personnel in the area helped direct the team to the trout's habitat. "A 'trigger point' was identified where the fire was growing close to Wildcat Creek but was not creating unsafe conditions for biologists to collect fish," said CPW Wildlife Program Manager Clay Kampf. "With the fire moving closer to the headwaters of Wildcat Creek, the window was closing to collect fish, and the biologists jumped on the opportunity to conduct the operation before the fire entered the watershed." Crews used a process called electrofishing, where a light dose of electricity is applied in the water, to briefly stun the fish and capture them. The team netted 266 Uncompahgre Cutthroat Trout, transferred them into buckets and carried them to a hatchery truck waiting along Colorado Highway 145. The cutthroats were taken to CPW's Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery, where they will be monitored and cared for until they can be returned to their natural habitat.
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
62-year-old fish caught in Lake Superior thought to be oldest-ever lake trout found in Great Lakes
Researchers say that a lake trout recently captured in Lake Superior is believed to be the oldest-known specimen of its species ever caught in the Great Lakes, estimated to be 62 years old. The fish was collected at Klondike Reef in autumn 2023 by researchers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, along with multiple universities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. According to the DNR, one of the fish specimens collected may not have tipped any physical records scales, weighing in under 5 pounds and measuring just over 2 feet in length, but it certainly qualifies as the oldest fish ever documented among the five Great Lakes. The fish is believed to have hatched in 1961, long before a man walked on the moon, long before the first known test-tube baby, and even before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. DNR officials said, with some whimsical logic, that if the fish were to have gone through human schooling, it would have graduated the same year as former president Barack Obama and Princess Diana of Wales. A typical lake trout in Lake Superior is thought to be roughly 25 to 30 years old. Prior to this new discovery, the oldest trout reported in the lake was estimated to have reached 42 years of age. Researchers determined the age of the fish by counting the number of "rings" visible on the fish's otolith, or "ear stone," which grows through the years of a fish's life. The Michigan DNR said that staffers have taken to calling the fish "Mary Catherine," as Mary was among the most common names given to baby girls the year the trout was born. Officials say that they take samples of fish to track population health, and the discovery of Mary Catherine indicates that lake trout are doing well in Lake Superior.
