In the US state of Colorado, rabbits with unusual spiny black tentacles on their faces.
And this is not fiction in the style of Last of Us, but reality. By messages local channel 9News, over the past few months, rabbits with strange spiky growths on their faces have been spotted in Fort Collins on several occasions.
“It looks like he had black needles or black toothpicks sticking out of his mouth. I thought, he was going to die in the winter, but it didn’t happen. He came back for the second year, and he grew”, — a local resident told the TV channel Susan Mansfield.
Rabbits spotted with tentacle-like growths on their faces: https://t.co/3fGO8XY08I pic.twitter.com/eOStIoINh8
— WAFB (@WAFB) August 10, 2025
In response to reports of unusual rabbits the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department said, that young rabbits in the region are infected with the papillomavirus, and the appearance of sharp black tentacles on the heads and faces of animals are the result of this infection. The Office also added, that rabbits are usually infected by ticks, mosquitoes, and other insects. This infection is caused by is not dangerous for other pets or people, except for domestic rabbits.
“Pet owners don’t have to worry openly. We just advise you to remember the principles of wildlife when you take your pets for a walk: keep them on a leash, keep them away from wild animals just in case, but that doesn’t necessarily apply to rabbits or dogs”, — explains a representative of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department Kara Van Hoose.
Although the manifestations of the papillomavirus in rabbits look quite ominous, this infection is not fatal. Infected rabbits are likely to recover and the horrible growths will disappear. Therefore, wildlife experts do not recommend putting infected rabbits to sleep. They are just going through a difficult phase of the disease through the studied virus.They are not a threat to most pets, and one day they will shed their tentacles and become adorable again.
Source: Futurism
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: