Kevin Strange things are happening all around us, but some strangeness is just warts creating zombie rabbits with black spiked horns growing out of their faces.
Imagine walking your dog in Fort Collins, Colorado, and spotting what looks like a regular bunny rabbit – except it has gnarly black spikes jutting out of its face like some kind of woodland horror movie creature. That’s exactly what’s been happening lately, and residents are equally fascinated and freaked out. These aren’t mutant bunnies or zombie rabbits (despite what social media is calling them). They’re just cottontails with a common virus that makes weird, horn-like warts grow on their faces. The best part? This same virus might have inspired the legendary jackalope stories that cowboys have been telling for centuries. Who knew real life could be weirder than folklore?
It’s a virus, not a plague
When people see strange and unusual things, they can often think the worst immediately, and not consider more common possibilities. A group of rabbits in Colorado are horned animals that look like they have come right out of a horror movie, but that’s not the case. Instead, these rabbits have shope papillomavirus, which is common in bunnies. The black spikes sticking out of their faces could be the source of the jackalope myth origin, which tells of a large rabbit with horns coming out of its head. Thankfully, all that’s happening is a common virus that happens in rabbits.
Fort Collins is infected
Upon first seeing the zombie rabbits, many residents of Fort Collins might think these Colorado horned rabbits were some type of plague sent to take them out or signal the end of times. Instead, the rabbit papillomavirus is a common occurrence in these rabbits in Colorado. Of course, this means that anyone seeing the black spikes sticking out of rabbit faces would take pictures, creating viral rabbit photos, but not the cute kind. The wart-like growths look like horns but are actually just the virus that some cottontail rabbits’ contract during their lives.
Not the best names for these rabbits
Some names have surfaces for the rabbits with this strange virus. These include Frankenstein rabbits of Fort Collins, demon rabbits, or the zombie rabbits of Colorado. These names aren’t surprising at all and are somewhat expected, especially since rabbits with this virus are unusual and strange, giving the internet and social media plenty of fodder for some strange and interesting names to surface.
What do we know about the disease?
The virus that causes zombie rabbits with black horns protruding from their faces was discovered and researched nearly 100 years ago. Along with the folklore of the jackalope myth of North America, these rabbits and their disease and horns became scientific curiosity which has been studied since the rabbits were first discovered. Many scientists have studied the virus in these rabbits and the connection with cancer and viruses including the human papillomavirus which causes cervical cancer.
The virus in the rabbits was named after Dr. Richard E. Shope, who discovered the disease in cottontail rabbits in the 1930s.
What caused these rabbits to receive attention?
You would think that a virus that’s been witnessed in these rabbits for the past century would be commonplace and something that would not demand the attention of the local community. Still, many residents of Fort Collins, Colorado, might not be familiar with the zombie rabbits and wonder why these bunnies suddenly have ugly protruding spikes coming out of their faces and heads. This has caused many residents to post pictures and ask lots of questions about these rabbits and what’s going on with them.
What causes these horns?
The strange and large warts that appear on rabbits are caused by fleas and ticks that spread the virus. This is why rabbits appear with these horns during the summer when these insects are the most active. The virus cannot spread to other species, but can spread from one rabbit to another, including humans and pets. This means the local population isn’t in danger of contracting this virus from the rabbits but they should still keep their distance from the animals.
Do the growths harm the rabbits?
Although rabbits that contract this virus look like zombie rabbits, they aren’t in any danger as long as the growths don’t appear on their eyes and mouths, which would interfere with eating. The immune systems of these animals can fight off the virus, which will eventually cause the growths to disappear. Until then, it’s a good idea to leave the rabbits alone and let them continue with their lives as normal. Of course, this doesn’t stop anyone from taking some photos and sharing them on social media.
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