RABBITS with bizarre horn-like and tentacle-style growths jutting from their heads are terrifying locals and sparking fresh warnings to steer clear.
Disturbing images show the creatures with black spiny protrusions that resemble quills or toothpicks bursting through their skin.
Rabbits with horn-like growths on their heads have been spotted in Wisconsin[/caption]
Similar cases in Colorado, sparking fears of “zombie” bunnies (stock image)[/caption]
The alarming cases have been confirmed in northern Wisconsin, just weeks after similar “zombie rabbits” were reported in Colorado.
Wildlife experts say the unsettling condition is caused by Shope papillomavirus – a disease that leaves rabbits covered in wart-like growths.
Officials stress the virus doesn’t infect humans or pets, but residents are still being told not to touch or approach the sick animals.
Photos from Colorado went viral earlier this month, with people online dubbing the rabbits “Frankenstein bunnies” and comparing them to zombies in HBO’s The Last of Us.
Susan Mansfield, a resident in Fort Collins, Colorado, said she has seen the same infected rabbit return to her yard for two years.
“I thought he would die off during the winter, but he didn’t,” she told local station KUSA.
“He came back a second year, and it grew.”
Another neighbor described the disturbing growths as “a scabbiesh-looking” crust covering the rabbit’s face.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the rabbits were infected with the Shope virus and warned people to keep their distance.
“The virus is believed to cause benign cancerous cells, and while it’s not fatal, the growths can cause problems if they spread over the eyes or mouth,” CPW said.
In Wisconsin, officials have recorded eight reports involving 23 rabbits across St. Croix, Dunn, Pierce, and Polk counties this year.
“That can, of course, be very eye-catching and very strange-looking to people that haven’t seen it before,” said Nancy Businga, wildlife disease specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“Every year we get a few random reports, but there has been a slight uptick this year,” she added.
Last year, the state only logged one report of rabbits infected with the virus.
What Is Shope Papilloma Virus?
- A viral disease causing wart-like tumors on rabbits, mainly on their heads, ears, and eyelids.
- Spread by biting insects like mosquitoes and ticks.
- Tumors can be benign or turn malignant (cancerous).
- Commonly affects wild and pet rabbits, especially during summer and fall.
- Treatment usually involves surgical removal of growths.
- Prevention focuses on protecting rabbits from insect bites
The disease was first identified in the 1930s by physician Richard E. Shope and was the earliest tumor virus ever discovered.
Paul Lambert, oncology professor at the University of Wisconsin, explained: “This is not a bloodborne pathogen. Papillomaviruses are transmitted by exposure on the skin.”
He said the growths usually disappear as the rabbit’s immune system fights off the infection, WPR report.
While the condition looks frightening, Lambert stressed: “This is not new. It’s just that pictures of these rabbits draw interest because they look kind of bizarre.”
Kristen Bernard, a virology professor at the University of Wisconsin, said insects like mosquitoes and ticks spread the disease between rabbits.
“It’s because when the insect bites that area of an animal to blood feed like a tick does, like a mosquito does, it gets the virus on its mouth parts, and then goes and feeds on another animal,” she explained.
Experts say longer warm seasons may be boosting insect activity, but links to climate change remain unproven.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if climate change increased the amount of this in the summer months due to that mechanical transmission by insects,” Bernard said.
Other animals have also been spotted in Wisconsin with papillomavirus infections, including deer and even squirrels.
Officials warn that while the Shope virus isn’t dangerous to people or pets, wild rabbits can carry other illnesses such as tularemia, also known as rabbit fever.
Residents are urged not to touch, feed, or attempt to help infected wildlife, no matter how harmless they appear.
The bizarre outbreak comes as other “zombie” animal cases make headlines across the country.
In New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, deer with pus-filled boils have been spotted suffering from deer cutaneous fibroma, known as “deer warts.”
Social media users have shared grim images of the animals with large blister-like lumps covering their bodies.
Wildlife officials say the condition, spread by mosquitoes and ticks, is seeing an outbreak this summer.
Meanwhile, spiders in Europe and beyond are also being dubbed “zombies” after a parasitic fungus named Gibellula attenboroughii was discovered devouring their bodies.
The fungus, first filmed in Ireland during a BBC nature series, consumes the spiders from the inside until only a hollow shell remains.
Mycologist João Araújo told Science News: “If we cut through the infected spider, we don’t see any spider anymore. It’s just the fungal mass inside, which is the shape of the spider.”
