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Wildlife experts in Fort Collins, Colorado, are warning residents about wild rabbits infected with a disturbing disease known as cottontail papilloma virus (CRPV). Locals have spotted rabbits with dark, horn-like growths protruding from their heads and faces — a real-life phenomenon that inspired the “jackalope” myth.
Acording to ScienceDirect, CRPV is a papillomavirus that causes wart-like, often pigmented lesions on rabbits’ ears, eyelids, necks, and other parts of the body. In severe cases, these growths can cover the mouth, eyes, and cheeks, leading to blindness, starvation, and, in some cases, skin cancer. The virus is not contagious to humans but spreads between rabbits through mosquitoes and ticks, rather than direct contact…