Denver: 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 cottontail rabbits 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.
The dramatic growths don’t harm rabbits unless they grow on their eyes or mouths and interfere with their eating.Credit: X
Viral photos have inspired a number of unflattering nicknames, including “Frankenstein bunnies”, “demon rabbits” and “zombie rabbits”. But their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fuelling 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, which causes cervical cancer.
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The virus in rabbits was named after Dr Richard E. Shope, a professor at the Rockefeller University who discovered the disease in rabbits in the 1930s.
News about the rabbit sightings in Fort Collins, 105 kilometres north of Denver, started getting attention after residents began spotting them around town and posting pictures.