‘Zombie' rabbits with black horns and mouth tentacles are invading Colorado backyards
Rabbits in Colorado are causing alarm among residents and looking more like creatures from nightmares and not fuzzy and cuddly friends. Rabbits in Fort Collins, Colorado, are being spotted with eerie black-colored growths resembling tentacles or horns protruding from their heads.
9NEWS Northern Colorado reporter Amanda Gilbert captured a photo of one not-so-cute rabbit with the growth on its head, which resident Susan Mansfield said looked like '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,' Mansfield added.
Photos of another rabbit, whose growths have almost completely covered its face, have also gone viral on Reddit.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have identified the cause as shope papillomavirus, a rabbit-only virus with no cure that produces wart-like tumours known as papillomas, particularly around the face and head of cottontail rabbits, 9NEWS reports.
The virus only spreads among rabbits, primarily by biting insects like fleas and ticks during warmer months. A relative of human papillomavirus, SPV is not harmful to humans, pets or other wildlife, and usually doesn't hurt the rabbit unless it affects the eyes or mouth, officials said.
Officials advise residents to avoid approaching or touching affected rabbits. Most wild rabbits manage well, as the growths often disappear on their own.
The rabbits' eerie look has gone viral, with comparisons to ' zombies,' 'aliens, and 'Frankenstein bunnies.' Their antler-like growths may have inspired the North American jackalope legend, some researchers and folklorists say.
'Wow, I kinda feel bad for them,' one person commented on an Instagram post of the affected animals.
'One time I need this to be AI,' another joked.
'Zombies are on the rise,' someone else added on Facebook.
'The rabbit escaped from 'Monty Python and The Holy Grail,'' another person referenced the cult-classic movie's killer rabbit.
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