Black tentacle-like protrusions are growing on bunnies — and no, it’s not a sign of symbiosis like we see in Marvel’s “Venom.”
In Fort Collins, Colo., bunnies have been seen with what witnesses describe as “tentacles,” “quills,” “horns,” and “toothpicks” growing around their face.
In an interview with 9NEWS, resident Susan Mansfield suspected that the bunny she saw with the protrusions “would die off during the winter, but he didn’t. He came back a second year, and it grew.”
These growths are a result of a bunny-only virus called shope papillomavirus, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. While uncommon, it does pop up every now and then.
The virus doesn’t have a cure but is benign — despite its zombie-like appearance — so long as it doesn’t manifest “on sensitive areas like their eyes or mouths,” 9NEWS reported.
As it only effects bunnies, the public doesn’t have to worry about other wildlife, pets, or themselves contracting the virus. It usually spreads “primarily by biting insects like fleas and ticks during warmer months,” Independent said.
The virus itself is related to the human papillomavirus.
Still, it’s better not to touch bunnies who contracted the virus — just as it is a rule of thumb not to touch wild bunnies anyway.
On Instagram, commenters posted their bewilderment.
Some uploaded gifs of the zombies from “The Last of Us” and of Venom, while another commented: “One time I need this to be AI.”
“We’ve reached the upside down!” a user lamented, referencing the dark world parallel to our own in Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
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