Infected Rabbits Spook Out Residents in Colorado

On August 13, 2025, people in the residence of Fort Collins, Colorado, spotted a few rabbits that had dark tentacles sprouting from their heads. The bunnies are infected with cottontail rabbit papillomavirus.

The disease cannot spread to any other animals or species, said Kara Van Hoose, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Rabbits can cure this disease on their own over time, but this disease gives them disadvantages in eating and seeing while they still have it. Ms. Van Hoose also warned, ‘People should avoid feeding the infected bunnies.’

Cottontail rabbit papillomavirus gets spread through insects such as fleas and mosquitoes biting the bunnies. Summer is most likely when the rabbits get the disease, because bug interactions are most common in summer. There’s no cure or treatment for the disease, Ms. Van Hoose said. According to a National Institutes of Health study, this virus will not spread to house pets. This condition excludes pet rabbits because the disease is more severe in domesticated rabbits and can cause cancer. You should definitely take your rabbit to a vet if it is infected.

Ever since people first spotted the rabbits, Ms. Van Hoose’s department has been flooded with calls of new sightings of the infected rabbits. These phone calls were mostly from people in Northern Colorado. This month isn’t the first time rabbits have creeped out everyone who sees one. These rabbits were even spotted in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

“We’re so used to seeing rabbits, so they’re like, ‘Oh my god, what is that on its face?’” Ms. Van Hoose said, “‘I know what a rabbit is supposed to look like, and that’s not it.’”