On the outskirts of Fort Collins, Colorado, residents have been startled by an unusual sight: wild rabbits hopping through fields with eerie, horn-like growths sprouting from their faces.
At first glance, they look like something out of folklore—a mash-up between a jackalope myth and a Halloween creature. Social media quickly dubbed them “Frankenstein rabbits,” but the real story is stranger and more fascinating than fiction.
The bizarre protrusions aren’t tentacles or horns at all, but the result of a virus that’s been known to science for nearly a century.
Called Shope papillomavirus, this pathogen infects cottontail rabbits and causes keratinized growths on their heads, mouths, and even necks. Under certain light, the black, twisted shapes look like tentacles creeping from the animal’s face.
While the appearance is shocking, wildlife experts emphasize that the virus is not contagious to humans or pets – it’s a rabbit-only affair.…