Residents in Fort Collins, Colorado, are facing a bizarre and unsettling sight: rabbits roaming the area with black, tentacle-like growths sprouting from their heads, sparking online comparisons to infected creatures from The Last of Us.
While their appearance is alarming, Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the rabbits are suffering from Shope papilloma virus, also known as the cottontail rabbit papilloma virus (CRPV) – a condition that’s harmless to humans but can cause grotesque, wart-like projections to grow on a rabbit’s face and body.
“It looks like black quills or toothpicks sticking out all around his or her mouth,” local resident Susan Mansfield told 9NEWS. “I thought he would die off during the winter, but he didn’t. He came back a second year, and it grew.”
“Last of Us” rabbits can’t infect humans
The virus causes lesions that can turn into large, keratinized tumors, often on the head, ears, eyelids, neck, and even legs. While usually not fatal, the growths can lead to problems if they block the animal’s mouth or eyes. In rare cases, the warts can develop into squamous cell carcinoma, a serious form of skin cancer.
Shope papilloma outbreaks are most common in summer and autumn, and wildlife officials are advising pet rabbit owners to keep their animals indoors during these months as a precaution. There’s currently no cure, meaning infected wild rabbits are left to live with the condition until it runs its course.
Online, the disturbing images have spread quickly, with some comparing the so-called “Frankenstein bunnies” to the fungal infected from HBO’s The Last of Us or monsters from other horror franchises. One witness described the growths as “a scabby-ish-looking mass” covering parts of the rabbits’ faces.
For now, Colorado’s eerie rabbit population continues to draw both local concern and viral attention. And, unless a bunny version of Ellie shows up immune, the state’s wildlife officials say there’s little that can be done.
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