Earlier this week, The Internet collectively gasped and recoiled as photos went viral of rabbits in Fort Collins with features on their heads that resemble horns or tentacles.
The bunnies’ odd growths are caused by a disease called rabbit papillomavirus. Cosmetics aside, the disease is generally harmless and temporary for rabbits and doesn’t spread to humans.
Those photos gave most people on social media a chuckle or a momentary diversion. But they created a pile of work for Kara Van Hoose. She’s a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the state division that fielded many of the media calls as the pics got more attention.
KUNC’s In The NoCo team reached out to Van Hoose for a little extra insight into why Northern Colorado’s “demon” bunnies suddenly fascinated the world, and how rabbit papillomavirus is likely the inspiration for the Jackalope, a mythical creature that is basically a jackrabbit with antelope horns. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
O’Toole: This story has certainly captured the world's attention. The rabbits have people fascinated – maybe horrified is a better word. But how unusual is rabbit papillomavirus?
Van Hoose: It's not unusual in Colorado. It happens every summer. It's pretty cyclical. I think that's why we're a little surprised at the level of interest that the internet and then people just have in these rabbits. When I would talk with our veterinarians over at our wildlife lab [they’d say]: “Why are you asking about this? This happens every year.” I said, I know it does, but for some reason everybody is freaking out about these rabbits.
O’Toole: So the virus exists year-round. How does it get transmitted?
Van Hoose: It's transmitted through biting insects like fleas, ticks or mosquitoes. It peaks in the transmission cycle in the summer, so that's when we normally see those little insects to be the most active. And then, of course, they're either dead or dormant in the winter. So then, when they bite and infect the rabbits with this virus, the rabbits start to grow these almost wart-like things on their faces.
And they can look different for each rabbit. They can be like small, round, or they can become more conical, like tentacles or horns. But then [those features] really start to exhibit in the summertime.
And of course, rabbits are everywhere in Colorado. They're right in our neighborhoods. They're on the plains. They're in the mountains.
O’Toole: In our gardens!
Van Hoose: Exactly -- sometimes wanted or unwanted. And then, you know, all it takes is just one photo on social media and they go viral.
O’Toole: No pun intended.
Van Hoose: Maybe some pun intended!
O’Toole: Is this contagious to other species? Should we be worried about our pets, or maybe ourselves?
Van Hoose: This particular strain of the papilloma virus only affects rabbits. So it could infect domestic rabbits, if you have one in your home and then you let it out in your backyard. But it's not transmitted to dogs or humans. We see a different strain of the papilloma virus in deer or elk.
O’Toole: I have to say, seeing a rabbit with these black tentacles growing from their face is unsettling. Is the virus harmful to the rabbits that are infected with it?
Van Hoose: They're mostly benign. If you grew a wart, it's kind of the same principle there. And since this is a virus, the rabbits are able to defeat it and kind of clear it from their system. Their immune system will take care of it eventually, and the growths will fall off.
It could be harmful to the rabbit. If the rabbit has some sort of underlying medical condition, or if it starts to grow in really sensitive areas, like the eyes or the mouth and sort of impedes its ability to eat.
O’Toole: The virus was discovered and named in the 1930s by Dr. Richard Shope, but it certainly has existed for much longer. And it may have even inspired the legend of the Jackalope. Are you getting more calls about them this year than in the past?
Van Hoose: We are taking more calls about them since the first news story was published. I think people probably saw them before, and maybe just thought, oh, what was that on that rabbit? But since they saw a news story or something on their social media, now they're calling us. So maybe there are more rabbits with the virus this year. But it's also possible people are just taking notice for the first time.
O’Toole: What do you think about these nicknames, like Frankenbunny?
Van Hoose: I'm a fan of anything that combines, you know, demon horns and rabbits. I really enjoy the creativity that people have taken with this. I do like to think about if this was the genesis for the Jackalope myth – or “myth” in quotation marks, because we don't really know for sure! But people have just gotten really creative. I think science is fun and nature is fun, and anything that sort of sparks that creativity or that interest, I think is really good.
O’Toole: When you get a lot of calls about these rabbits, how does Parks and Wildlife respond?
Van Hoose: First, we try to just gather some more information. Where did you see the rabbit? Did it look like it was having trouble eating? Was it still able to move? You just do kind of a quick health assessment with the person who's calling, and then you can also just give some education. Sometimes people just want to let us know that they saw it. Sometimes they have more questions. It's a chance for us to open up that conversation about viruses that exist that could affect wildlife and what to do if you encounter one.
O’Toole: What are some other odd features on animals that have prompted people to call Colorado Parks and Wildlife?
Van Hoose: We get calls about a lot of different things. It could be something like growths that they see – maybe another like antler or spike that's coming up on a deer. Maybe it's an animal that's an unexpected color, like an albino strain, you know, or a genetic abnormality. Because we have so much wildlife in Colorado, we have so much more opportunity for those abnormalities within our animals.
O’Toole: What do you think it is about the story that has people so fascinated right now? I mean, is it the memes and clever names that are causing these bunnies to have a moment?
Van Hoose: I think a lot of people just love rabbits, and kind of know what rabbits are supposed to look like. So when you see something on its face that maybe shouldn't be there and is turning it into this whole other nightmare creature, maybe , it's your chance to give it a strange name or to chime in with what you think it really looks like. And I'm excited to see people taking an interest in wildlife and maybe trying to learn a bit more.
