Why rabbits with 'horns' are being called 'Frankenstein bunnies'
The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasising horns.
Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including "Frankenstein bunnies", "demon rabbits", and "zombie rabbits". But their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago.
The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists' knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such as the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer.
The virus in rabbits was named after Dr Richard E Shope, a professor at The Rockefeller University who discovered the disease in cottontails in the 1930s.
ADVERTISEMENT
This photo provided by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources shows a deceased Eastern cottontail rabbit infected with Shope papillomavirus in October 2021. (Source: Associated Press)
News about the rabbit sightings in Fort Collins, 105 kilometres north of Denver, started getting attention after residents started spotting them around town and posting pictures.
Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the agency has been getting calls about the rabbits seen in Fort Collins.
But she said that it's not uncommon to see infected rabbits, especially in the summer, when the fleas and ticks that spread the virus are most active. The virus can spread from rabbit to rabbit but not to other species, including humans and pets, she said.
The growths resemble warts but can look like horns if they grow longer, Van Hoose said. The growths don't harm rabbits unless they grow on their eyes or mouths and interfere with eating. Rabbits' immune systems are able to fight the virus and, once they do, the growths will disappear, she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
18 hours ago
- 1News
Why rabbits with 'horns' are being called 'Frankenstein bunnies'
A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, hornlike growths may seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists say there's no reason to be spooked — the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus. The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasising horns. Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including "Frankenstein bunnies", "demon rabbits", and "zombie rabbits". But their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago. The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists' knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such as the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer. The virus in rabbits was named after Dr Richard E Shope, a professor at The Rockefeller University who discovered the disease in cottontails in the 1930s. ADVERTISEMENT This photo provided by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources shows a deceased Eastern cottontail rabbit infected with Shope papillomavirus in October 2021. (Source: Associated Press) News about the rabbit sightings in Fort Collins, 105 kilometres north of Denver, started getting attention after residents started spotting them around town and posting pictures. Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the agency has been getting calls about the rabbits seen in Fort Collins. But she said that it's not uncommon to see infected rabbits, especially in the summer, when the fleas and ticks that spread the virus are most active. The virus can spread from rabbit to rabbit but not to other species, including humans and pets, she said. The growths resemble warts but can look like horns if they grow longer, Van Hoose said. The growths don't harm rabbits unless they grow on their eyes or mouths and interfere with eating. Rabbits' immune systems are able to fight the virus and, once they do, the growths will disappear, she said.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Twenty-five million year old whale ancestor discovered in Australia
Long before whales were majestic, gentle giants, some of their prehistoric ancestors were tiny, weird and feral. A chance discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil on an Australian beach has allowed paleontologists to identify a rare, entirely new species that could unlock mysteries of whale evolution. Researchers this week officially named Janjucetus dullardi, a cartoonish creature with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Unlike today's whales, the juvenile specimen was small enough to fit in a single bed. Boasting fiendish teeth and a shark-like snout, however, this oddball of the ocean was nasty, mean and built to hunt. 'It was, let's say, deceptively cute,' said Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute, and one of the paper's authors. ADVERTISEMENT 'It might have looked for all the world like some weird kind of mash-up between a whale, a seal and a Pokémon but they were very much their own thing.' Ruairidh Duncan, left, and Erich Fitzgerald examine a partial fossil skull. (Source: Associated Press) Extinct species was an odd branch on the whale family tree The rare discovery of the partial skull, including ear bones and teeth, was made in 2019 on a fossil-rich stretch of coast along Australia's Victoria state. Jan Juc Beach, a cradle for some of the weirdest whales in history, is becoming a hotspot for understanding early whale evolution, Fitzgerald said. Few family trees seem stranger than that of Janjucetus dullardi, only the fourth species ever identified from a group known as mammalodontids, early whales that lived only during the Oligocene Epoch, about 34 to 23 million years ago. That marked the point about halfway through the known history of whales. The tiny predators, thought to have grown to 3 meters (10 feet) in length, were an early branch on the line that led to today's great baleen whales, such as humpbacks, blues and minkes. But the toothy ancestors with powerful jaws would have looked radically different to any modern species. 'They may have had tiny little nubbins of legs just projecting as stumps from the wall of the body,' said Fitzgerald. ADVERTISEMENT That mystery will remain tantalizingly unsolved unless a specimen is uncovered with more of its skeleton intact, which would be something of a miracle. Even the partial skull that allowed the initial identification this week was an astonishing discovery. For an amateur paleontologist, a life-long obsession paid off Janjucetus dullardi was named by researchers after an amateur fossil hunter who doesn't mind its looks in the slightest. 'It's literally been the greatest 24 hours of my life,' said Ross Dullard, who discovered the skull while fossil hunting at Jan Juc Beach. After Wednesday's confirmation of the new species, the school principal walked like a rock star onto campus with 'high fives coming left, right and center,' he said. His friends and family are probably just relieved it's over. 'That's all they've heard from me for about the last six years,' he said. Dullard was on a regular low-tide hunt at Jan Juc the day he spotted something black protruding from a cliff. Poking it dislodged a tooth. ADVERTISEMENT He knew enough to recognize it was unlikely to belong to a dog or a seal. 'I thought, geez, we've got something special here,' he said. Dullard sent photos to Museums Victoria, where Fitzgerald saw them and immediately suspected a new species. Ruairidh Duncan examines a tooth and partial fossil skull. (Source: Associated Press) Ancient whale finds are rare but significant Confirming the find was another matter. This was the first mammalodontid to be identified in Australia since 2006 and only the third on record in the country. Fossils of sufficient quality, with enough of the right details preserved to confirm uniqueness, aren't common. 'Cetaceans represent a fairly miniscule population of all life,' Fitzgerald said. Millions of years of erosion, scavengers and ocean currents take their toll on whale skeletons too. ADVERTISEMENT 'It's only the chosen few, the vast minority of all whales that have ever lived and died in the oceans over millions of years, that actually get preserved as fossils,' he added. Finds such as Janjucetus dullardi can unlock insights into how prehistoric whales ate, moved, behaved — and evolved. Researchers said the discoveries also helped to understand how ancient cetacean species adapted to warmer oceans, as they study how today's marine life might respond to climate change. Meanwhile, Dullard planned to host a fossil party this weekend, featuring cetacean-themed games and whale-shaped treats in jello, to celebrate his nightmare Muppet find, finally confirmed. 'That's taken my concentration for six years,' he said. 'I've had sleepless nights. I've dreamt about this whale.'
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Rabbits in US with 'horns' being called 'Frankenstein bunnies'
A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, horn-like growths may seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists say there's no reason to be spooked — the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus. The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins were infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which caused wart-like growths that protruded from their faces like metastasising horns. Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including "Frankenstein bunnies", "demon rabbits" and "zombie rabbits". But their affliction was nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago. The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists' knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such as the human papillomavirus that caused cervical cancer. The virus in rabbits was named after Dr Richard E Shope, a professor at The Rockefeller University who discovered the disease in cottontails in the 1930s. News about the rabbit sightings in Fort Collins, 105km north of Denver, attracted attention after residents started spotting them around town and posting pictures. Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told The Associated Press that the agency has been getting calls about the rabbits seen in Fort Collins. But she said that it was not uncommon to see infected rabbits, especially in the summer, when the fleas and ticks that spread the virus were most active. The virus could spread from rabbit to rabbit but not to other species, such as humans or pets, she said. The growths resembled warts but could look like horns if they grew longer, Van Hoose said. The growths didn't harm rabbits unless they grew on their eyes or mouths and interfere with eating. Rabbits' immune systems were able to fight the virus and, once they did, the growths would disappear, she said.
