FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Rabbits that look like something out of a nightmare are being seen in Colorado.
Bunnies with what appear to be tentacles growing from their faces are hopping around Fort Collins, KUSA reported.
One person described the rabbit as having “a scabbiesh-looking growth over their face.”
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Despite what it looks like, the black growths are nothing to worry about. It is caused by a virus, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The virus, the cottontail rabbit papillomavirus, cannot be passed to humans or dogs, the CPW said, but it can spread among rabbits. If a domestic rabbit is infected, it can be more severe and should require a visit to a veterinarian, Fox News reported.
“Typically rabbits become infected in the warmer months of summer when transmitted by being bitten by insects like fleas and ticks then clears from the system in colder months and the rabbits are typically fine,” CPW spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told the Coloradoan.
The CPW said that the infection is survivable and the growths will disappear. It also doesn’t hurt the animals unless the growths appear on areas like the rabbit’s eyes or mouth, according to KUSA.
Still, despite no threat to humans, the CPW said that rabbits that are seen with the growths should not be touched, caught or fed, the Coloradoan said.
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