{"id":90522,"date":"2025-08-17T22:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T22:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/90522\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T22:48:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T22:48:08","slug":"why-rabbits-are-growing-horns-and-tentacles-in-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/90522\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Rabbits Are Growing Horns And Tentacles In Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somewhere deep within the untamed expanses of the northern Colorado wilderness, an ordinary animal is undergoing a frightful metamorphosis.<\/p>\n

By the light of the full moon, hard, pointed protrusions\u00a0like devil horns<\/a>\u00a0sprout from behind the soft fur of its ears. Around its large eyes come black slithering masses that twist and writhe like Cthulhu’s tentacles.<\/p>\n

Under its mouth extend two dark, forked barbs, a veritable pair of outgrowths that resemble vampire fangs, suggesting it has truly become a monster. With the transformation complete, the creature emerges from the brush to reveal, not a Lovecraftian horror beyond human comprehension, but a common cottontail rabbit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This particular species, ubiquitous in Wyoming, is experiencing the effects of a seasonal surge in Shope papilloma virus, a disease that causes the growth of dark structures made of keratin around a rabbit\u2019s face and neck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Images of rabbits with this bizarre affliction have made waves across social media, with many likening their strange visage to that of Frankenstein\u2019s monster or an undead zombie.<\/p>\n

While no infected rabbits have been spotted in Wyoming, some have made their way as close as Fort Collins, Colorado, sparking speculation they may soon cross over into the Cowboy State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SightingsSightings of \u201czombie rabbits\u201d near Fort Collins have sparked a wave of speculation about what those horned critters are. Turns out they have a rare disease that causes growths all over \u2014 and likely the origin of Wyoming\u2019s mythical jackalopes. (Getty Images)What\u2019s Up, Doc?<\/p>\n

Laurie Hess, an exotic pet veterinarian in Bedford Hills, New York, told Cowboy State Daily the disease is normally not life threatening to a rabbit. She said the emergence of these horn-like growths is similar to the way warts appear in humans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been around forever, it\u2019s a virus, it\u2019s nothing new and it\u2019s being sensationalized because people are seeing what it can do to wild rabbits,\u201d Hess said via phone. \u201cThese rabbits look freakish but usually these [growths] are benign things, sometimes they will kind of fall off and go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the way the body reacts and walls off this virus as it divides, and it forms this pile of protein that happens to be in the shape of a horn,\u201d Hess added.<\/p>\n

In rare exceptions the growths can develop into malignant cancer but are otherwise harmless.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is, it\u2019s not transmittable to people, it\u2019s not transmittable to other pets other than rabbits,\u201d Hess said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hess said the appearance of such growths is specific only to rabbits, even though different types of papilloma viruses exist in other species, including humans.<\/p>\n

While the strange twisting horns caused by Shope papilloma virus have drawn comparisons to the zombie Cordyceps fungus popularized by the HBO series \u201cThe Last of Us,\u201d Hess said the disease is something entirely different.<\/p>\n

\u201cFungus is an environmental thing,\u201d Hess said. \u201cEven athlete\u2019s foot is a fungus, it lives in the gym in the drain, and you step in it and you get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shope papilloma virus\u201cis not like a plague spread through the air, it\u2019s not like that, it\u2019s not like COVID where you breathe the same air as someone with COVID has,\u201d she added. \u201cIt has to be a transmission and it\u2019s usually through insects.\u201d<\/p>\n

A late summer resurgence of mosquitos, therefore, creates prime conditions for the spread of the shocking malady. Hess added that owners of exotic pets, such as rabbits, should make sure to bring them to the vet at least once per year to monitor for similar strange diseases.<\/p>\n

Though Wyoming has yet to see any infected rabbits, the state Game and Fish Department confirmed to Cowboy State Daily in an email that it is monitoring the rabbits\u2019 movement through northern Colorado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

State officials do not have plans to intervene should the rabbits cross into the state, though, as Shope papilloma virus does not threaten any local wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this infection does look alarming, it is not fatal unless it interferes with the animals’ ability to eat and drink,\u201d Public Information Officer Amanda Fry wrote via email \u201cWe do recommend that you do not handle these animals, and give them space if you come across one.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately it is not a serious threat to rabbit populations, nor their role in ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe legend of the jackalope might have started with pioneers in the 1800s seeing rabbits infected with viruses that can cause horn-like growths. (CSD File)Legend Of The Jackalope<\/p>\n

Even though horned rabbit sightings can be explained by science, that doesn\u2019t stop some Wyomingites from speculating they are connected to a greater mythos rooted deep in state history.<\/p>\n

The city of Douglas, Wyoming,\u00a0credits the Herrick family<\/a>\u00a0with the invention of the mythical jackalope, an animal with a jackrabbit’s body and the antlers of an antelope. Luke Herrick, a third-generation taxidermist in Douglas, said the legend originated from his grandpa Doug, who one evening happened to toss a rabbit carcass next to a pair of antlers on the floor of his shed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey decided to try mounting one up,\u201d Herrick told Cowboy State Daily via phone. \u201cMy great grandmother, Doula Herrick, she was the one that named it. She said \u2018let\u2019s call it a jackalope.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Mounted Jackalopes, Herrick added, have since become a signature offering of Douglas\u2019s Herrick Big Horn Taxidermy. Herrick said a typical jackalope mount will cost about $55 to create, which he can then sell in his shop for $155.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sell twice as much [jackalopes] as we do our little animals,\u201d Herrick said. \u201cI took it over from my dad and he was doing 3,000 jackalopes a year and he still couldn\u2019t keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Herrick said he was unfamiliar with a connection between jackalopes and Shope papilloma virus, he said the legendary creatures feel as real to him as any other animal he mounts in his shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt almost sounds funny but they\u2019re real to us, to me,\u201d Herrick said. \u201cI grew up with it ever since I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Douglas,Douglas, Wyoming, has adopted the Cowboy State’s mythical critter \u2014 the jackalope \u2014 claiming it was created by a local taxidermist in 1939. (Leo Wolfson, Cowboy State Daily)\"AA trio of jackalopes are mounted on a wall at the Douglas Railroad Museum and Visitor Center over a proclamation canonizing taxidermist Doug Herrick of Douglas for creating the first jackalope in 1939. (Leo Wolfson, Cowboy State Daily)\"ThisThis one escaped the canning process. (Leo Wolfson, Cowboy State Daily)\"AA giant jackalope at the Douglas Railroad Museum. (Photo by Jimmy Emerson via Flickr)Arrow leftArrow rightProbably The Virus<\/p>\n

Researcher Richard Shope discovered papilloma virus in rabbits in the 1930s around the same time as the invention of the jackalope, a coincidence that may have propelled the historical spread of the legend across the country, according to Douglas Railroad Museum jackalope scholar Jenna Rose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had always wondered if part of it was the [papilloma virus] that the rabbits get, so then they get the horns,\u201d Rose told Cowboy State Daily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearly 100 years of storytelling has also bestowed upon the jackalope a myriad of strange attributes. It doesn\u2019t deliver jellybeans and eggs like its cousin the Easter Bunny, but instead sings cowboy songs, drinks whiskey and mates only during electrical storms. Rose said this mystique likely contributes to the jackalope\u2019s staying power throughout the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people just love mythology,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a cool thing and you\u2019ve got Greek mythology, you\u2019ve got Loch Ness Monster, you\u2019ve got all these things out there and it just grows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen in the past couple of years people coming, just like they go look for The Mothman,\u201d she added. \u201cThey\u2019ll go on vacations based on these mythical creatures, so we have had people come here just to see the jackalope.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legend has since become a major part of Douglas\u2019s identity, even featuring the jackalope on part of its city emblem. Rose said the museum where she works produces an array of touristy merchandise from jackalope milk to tongue-in-cheek jackalope hunting licenses.<\/p>\n

The license, issued by the City of Douglas, permits the bearer to hunt jackalope from 12-2 a.m. on \u201cJune 31.\u201d Different iterations of the license will sometimes list penalties for noncompliance, such as the 2022 version which threatens a $13 fine or \u201c13 months hard play in Douglas, Wyoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herrick said the joke sometimes goes over the heads of eager hunters who set out in search of the rare game anyways.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know one instance, a guy was out hunting, shotgun out, and he was walking through the sagebrush looking for a jackalope and a game warden pulled up and asked him what he was doing,\u201d Herrick said. \u201cThe game warden told him the truth and that guy was pretty p\u2014ed off.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it remains possible a hunter could mistake a rabbit with the Shope papilloma virus for a jackalope, hunters aren\u2019t allowed to shoot it. Jackalope season, according to the city of Douglas, ended more than a month ago.<\/p>\n

Cottontail rabbit season, meanwhile, starts on Sept. 1 in Wyoming.<\/p>\n

Jackson Walker can be reached at: News@CowboyStateDaily.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Somewhere deep within the untamed expanses of the northern Colorado wilderness, an ordinary animal is undergoing a frightful…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-90522","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}