Colorado Residents Spot Rabbits with Black Horns and Tentacles — Real-Life ‘Jackalopes’?

By The Blogging Hounds Strange sightings of rabbits sporting black horn-like growths and eerie mouth tentacles are puzzling residents of Fort Collins, Colorado. These bizarre appearances, reminiscent of the mythical jackalope, are not the stuff of folklore, but the result of a viral infection caused by the Shope papilloma virus (SPV)—a close relative of the…

By The Blogging Hounds

Strange sightings of rabbits sporting black horn-like growths and eerie mouth tentacles are puzzling residents of Fort Collins, Colorado. These bizarre appearances, reminiscent of the mythical jackalope, are not the stuff of folklore, but the result of a viral infection caused by the Shope papilloma virus (SPV)—a close relative of the human papillomavirus (HPV).

What Are These Horned Rabbits?

Local wildlife officials confirm the rabbits are infected with SPV, which causes wart-like, keratinous growths that protrude from their faces, giving them a haunting, horned look. Susan Mansfield, a Fort Collins resident, told 9NEWS, “It looks like black quills or toothpicks sticking out all around his mouth… I thought he would die off during the winter, but he didn’t. He came back a second year, and it grew.”

The virus spreads primarily through biting insects like mosquitoes and ticks, and possibly through direct contact with infected fluids, though the growths themselves are not contagious. While the rabbits can sometimes shed the growths and survive, the infection can become serious if the tumors grow large enough to hinder eating or develop into malignant cancers.

The Legend of the Jackalope

The striking appearance of SPV-infected rabbits may explain the origins of North American jackalope myths—horned rabbits said to roam the wilderness. These mythical creatures have long been a staple of American folklore, bolstered by taxidermy hoaxes popularized by the Herrick brothers in the 1930s.

Scientists suggest that SPV’s ability to cause deer antler-like growths was likely the real-world seed for these legends, blending natural biology with cultural storytelling.

Beyond Myth: Scientific Importance

The discovery of the Shope papilloma virus in the 1930s was a breakthrough that linked viruses to cancer, paving the way for understanding HPV-related cancers in humans. Today, SPV remains a valuable model for studying viral oncology.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials caution the public to avoid contact with these infected wild rabbits despite their harmlessness to humans, as a precautionary measure.

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