Terrifying plague of ‘zombie squirrels' erupts as critters covered in oozing pus-filled sores are seen swarming gardens
Squirrels may look cute with their big bushy tails on a good day, but these ones have been seen covered with ghastly, pus-filled tumours.
5
5
5
These grotesque sores make the animals look like something out of a zombie apocalypse.
Pictures show them absolutely coated in these unsightly growths around their heads and limbs.
Homeowners in the US and Canada have spotted these disfigured rodents, leading to panicked speculation as to what's wrong with them.
Sightings of the diseased squirrels date as far back as 2023 in Maine, the Daily Mail has reported.
One Reddit user posted: "At first I thought it was eating something from my front beds, but then I realized it was on its face."
But while the descriptor of "zombie squirrel" has taken off online, wildlife experts think there's a specific condition they have.
Squirrel fibromatosis has been identified as the likely culprit - a skin condition that's caused by leporipoxvirus.
It spreads through direct contact between healthy squirrels and the lesions or saliva on those that are infected.
The condition leads to the wart-like growths spotted on the infected squirrels - which can burst open and ooze fluid.
However, residents will be relieved to hear that the disease is specific to squirrels and cannot spread to humans or other animals.
Horror as rabbits 'with tentacles and horns growing from their heads' are spotted & public urgently warned to stay away
But Shevenell Webb from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife nevertheless does not suggest trying help infected squirrels.
"I would not recommend trying to capture a squirrel that has the virus," Webb told the Bangor Daily News.
"It is naturally occurring and will run its course in time."
The ugly growths will typically heal of their own accord, without the need for any medication.
But from time to time, cases of squirrel fibromatosis can affect internal organs and lead to death.
And it's not the only disease that can turn otherwise cute animals into nightmare-fuel.
What is squirrel fibromatosis?
A disease causing ugly tumours to grow on squirrels' heads and limbs
It is spread through contact between healthy specimens and infected sores
The condition is cause by leporipoxvirus
It cannot spread to other animals, including dogs and humans
The growths will usually heal of their own accord
In some cases, it can lead to death if internal organs are affected
Horror images of rabbits with tentacles sprouting out of their heads have gone viral online.
Nightmarish pictures of the bunnies has prompted comparisons with the video game and HBO hit show The Last of Us.
Some initially thought that the images were AI-generated, but unfortunately, the horrible disease is actually real.
The bunnies are suffering from Shope Papilloma Virus - which causes these black growths to sprout from their faces.
Once the rabbit's immune system has fought off the virus, the "horns" will disappear.
This virus also cannot be passed on to other species, including dogs and humans.
However, people are still advised not to touch any infected rabbits.
5
5
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
RFK Jr. says he finds it ‘convenient' to wear jeans to the gym
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explained on Fox News that he works out in jeans for convenience, as he would go hiking before the gym and found it practical. Kennedy recently participated in the 'Pete and Bobby Challenge' with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, completing 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in under six minutes while wearing jeans. The challenge aims to encourage American youth to be fit, aligning with Kennedy's 'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA) agenda, which promotes public health, reducing artificial food additives, and re-evaluating health choices for children. Kennedy's MAHA movement, which echoes President Donald Trump 's 'Make America Great Again' slogan, focuses on health issues, including a reassessment of childhood vaccines. While experts agree with Kennedy's claim about increasing chronic conditions in American children, critics like John Oliver and health experts have raised concerns about the 'dangerous' nature of some of MAHA's proposed solutions, particularly the defunding of mRNA vaccine research.
Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
'Mutant' deer covered in fleshy bubbles spotted in the US
This year has not been too kind to animals in the US. Americans have spotted so-called 'Frankenstein' rabbits oozing sluglike tentacles from their faces and 'zombie' squirrels covered in sores in their back yards in recent months. Now, social media users in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, among others, say they're seeing deer covered in fleshy bubbles. 'A white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. But what is the growth? Is it a mole? A boil? An injury?' asked one Reddit user earlier this month. Clay Moden, a radio show host at WYRK in Buffalo, uploaded trail camera footage of a deer with 'some sort of growth on it' in early August. Don't go sprinting to your bunker out of fear we've got a Last of Us fungal plague on our hands, though. The deer are infected with deer cutaneous fibroma, a mostly benign infection that can't spread to other species, including humans. Better known as deer warts, this strain of fibroma is mainly found in young white-tailed deer and mule deer. It can cause up to two dozen hairless tumours to appear on the animal's body. The warts, sometimes as small as a pea to as large as a football, pop up on a deer's head, neck and forelegs. These lumps don't cause the deer any pain, but can hinder their ability to walk, eat or see. Deer generally overcome the disease on their own within a few months, as the growths slowly dry up and fall off. One user on X noted last Thursday: '…This deer in my yard. [The warts] got worse, then three months later, they were gone.' There's no known cure or treatment and it's recommended impacted deer be left alone. But if a deer is particularly struggling because of the warty lesions, you should call your local wildlife agency. Fibroma is transmitted through biting insects, such as mosquitoes, so deer are more likely to contract it in the summer and autumn, when the bugs are most active. Deer can also be sickened with fibroma by directly contacting a surface where the virus is wriggling on, or by rubbing against an infected deer. The creatures often trot along the same trails or nibble from the same feeding spots, making transmission possible. 'Fibromas are more commonly seen in male deer, suggesting that fighting may play a role in transmission of the virus,' according to the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife advises that hunters who harvest an infected deer skin the animal. The infection caused a scare in 2019, when viral Facebook posts blamed the bulbous deer on a brand of weedkiller, which is not the case. Many mammals have their own version of deer warts, called papillomas. Papillomaviruses are behind the recent cases of cottontail rabbits covered in black spikes, which are also spread by mosquitoes and ticks. This includes humans, too – human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection, can cause genital warts. Dr Omer Awan of the University of Maryland School of Medicine told MailOnline that we might be seeing more 'gross' pictures of animals in the future for two reasons. More Trending As humans continue to burn fossil fuels, spewing planet-warming pollution into the air, climate change will make the Earth warmer, helping blood-sucking critters like mosquitoes to thrive. But another reason for any increases in sightings might not seem as obvious. 'People are starting to talk about it more, they're starting to document it more on social media,' Dr Awan said. 'Hence, there's been a lot more discussion about this.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Toxic vapor kills fifth person in New York City MORE: Map shows Hurricane Erin along US East Coast threatening to isolate barrier islands MORE: Food influencers narrowly escape death after car crashes into restaurant table mid-review
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mutant deer with horrifying flesh bubbles spotted in multiple US states as fears of an outbreak grip the nation
Deer across the US have been spotted with tumor-like growths hanging off their bodies, joining rabbits and squirrels as animals showing signs of widespread disease. From the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest, pictures on social media continue to document cases of strange bubbles growing all over local deer, from their faces to their legs. Over the last two months, people have photographed deformed deer in New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Wildlife officials have already identified the condition as deer cutaneous fibroma, better known as deer warts. The condition is due to a virus transmitted between deer in all parts of the US, and experts have warned that it's spreading this summer. The virus mainly spreads through disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks, which pass on the blood of infected deer to healthy animals nearby. Since these potentially deadly pests breed and multiply in warmer weather, Americans should expect to see more cases of the condition wherever deer may live. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said: 'Papillomas are most frequently seen during the late summer and into the fall, probably due to increased biting insect activity during this time of year.' This year, Americans have also been encountering mutated rabbits and squirrels which have been spreading their own species-specific viruses throughout the US. These animals have dealt with similar sores and growths on their bodies as well. The condition spreading through deer this summer is part of the same broad family of viruses that can affect humans, known as papillomaviruses, which target the skin and mucous membranes. In humans, papillomaviruses cause conditions like common warts, plantar warts, and genital warts, and some strains are linked to cancers such as cervical or throat cancer. While both deer and human papillomaviruses lead to growths by infecting skin cells, the deer version is species-specific, meaning it's adapted only to infect deer and cannot jump to humans or other animals due to differences in how the virus attaches itself and enters cells in different species. Deer warts can be small, like a pea, or grow as big as a football, appearing gray, black, or fleshy and often hairless. While disease-transmitting insects are believed to be the main culprit spreading the virus, direct contact with the warts may also infect deer. Dr Kristin Mansfield, a wildlife veterinarian in Washington state, told FOX13 that deer can spread the virus if they share the same feeding areas, sleeping spot, or rubbing posts - usually a tree males use to mark their territory during mating season. Deer warts are found across the entire range of white-tailed deer in North America, so they're common throughout the US, with no specific state being much more affected than others. However, the condition is rarely fatal. The deer's immune system fights off the virus, and the warts shrink and disappear on their own after a few months. In rare cases, if the warts grow too large or become infected with bacteria, they can cause problems like blocking a deer's vision or ability to eat. One medical expert told the Daily Mail that Americans should expect diseases like this to continue spreading as temperatures get warmer throughout more of the year. Dr Omer Awan of the University of Maryland School of Medicine explained that climate change has allowed mosquitoes and ticks to live longer and also spread to areas they don't normally inhabit. While deer can't spread deer warts to people, they can bring illnesses such as Lyme disease to populated areas, which is passed on to humans through the ticks they carry. 'These temperature changes are resulting in diseases that were never endemic in certain areas to become endemic,' Dr Awan said. 'If you take a look at Lyme disease, for example, we're starting to see it in areas that we never saw it before... places like southern Canada, northern states on the East Coast, like Maine,' he added. Deer warts are not a new condition afflicting wildlife. Scientists believe it has been around for centuries, and studies on papillomaviruses affecting wildlife in the US go back to the 1950s. While climate changes in recent years are helping the virus to spread, Dr Awan noted that there's one other factor contributing to the increase in deer wart sightings: social media. 'People are starting to talk about it more, they're starting to document it more on social media, and hence, there's been a lot more discussion about this,' the doctor explained.
