Warning as 'Frankenstein' rabbits with tentacles sprouting from their heads invade parts of the US: 'Do NOT touch them'
The mutated rabbits have been spotted multiple times in Colorado, specifically in the city of Fort Collins.
The sightings date back to 2024, when a Fort Collins resident shared a picture online, showing the creature's entire head covered in black, tentacle-like protrusions.
It's believed the horns are due to a virus that causes cancerous growths and has no known cure.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has urged anyone who sees rabbits in the wild with these growths 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.
Wildlife officials added that the tentacles don't hurt the rabbits unless they grow out of sensitive areas like their eyes or mouth.
Although the mutated rabbits have mainly been seen in Colorado recently, researchers have noted that cottontail rabbits throughout the Midwest could become infected with the rare virus.
According to researchers from the University of Missouri, the protrusions are a symptom of Shope papilloma virus (SPV).
The virus is spread from rabbit to rabbit by disease-carrying mosquitoes or ticks, which bite one infected animal and then carry the DNA-altering condition to others.
Scientists noted that SPV rarely spreads through direct contact between these rabbits, and there are no known cases of insects infecting people with it through a bite.
The first sign that a rabbit has the virus is red, raised spots on their skin that eventually turn into wart-like tumors.
In many cases, these warts develop into keratinized papillomas, the 'horns' and 'tentacles' seen growing out of midwestern rabbits.
However, some of the warts can turn into a squamous cell carcinoma, a serious skin cancer that can be deadly if it spreads and isn't treated early.
For the rabbits without cancer, the growths can continue to develop for years. Some locals in Colorado noted seeing the same rabbits in their neighborhood dating back to 2024.
Susan Mansfield told KUSA: 'It looks like it was black quills or black toothpicks sticking out all around his or her mouth. I thought he would die off during the winter, but he didn't. He came back a second year, and it grew.'
For pet owners fearing their rabbits could contract the virus, medical experts said the best way to prevent SPV is to keep rabbits away from pests, especially mosquitoes.
If an insect bite does infect a pet rabbit with the virus, veterinarians can surgically remove the tumors before they become malignant.
Occasionally, these growths will heal on their own; however, the residents in Fort Collins have only seen the horns get bigger and bigger on local wildlife.
Some commenters on social media questioned whether it was better to euthanize any rabbits seen carrying SPV to prevent the virus from spreading.
'Is it more humane to kill them when [they're] like that or just leave them alone?' one person posted on Reddit.
Animal control officials in the US have not made any kind of recommendation supporting this, adding that the virus does not pose a public health risk to people.
Local wildlife officials have maintained that the best thing to do if you see these disfigured rabbits is to keep your distance and leave them undisturbed.
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