A rabbit infected with SPV. - photo courtesy of WD45 (CC BY 2.0)
WITH the rise of AI-generated images and videos, it is getting more difficult to detect whether something is real or fiction.
And with Halloween coming up, some videos featuring creepy animals moving around are popping up on social media feeds.
But are there images of rabbits with 'tentacles' sprouting out of their heads? Are these real?
Verdict:
TRUE
Yes, those images are real - a rabbit that looks like a horrifying creature out of a Lovecraftian horror novel. However, those are not 'horns' or 'tentacles'.
What is protruding out from the rabbits are actually wart-like growths that are caused by the Shope papillomavirus (SPV).
Viral photographs of these rabbits in Colorado, USA, have appeared on social media in the middle of this year, accompanied by nicknames such as "Frankenstein bunnies", "demon rabbits", and "zombie rabbits".
The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists’ knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such as the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer.
The virus in rabbits was named after Dr Richard E Shope, a professor at The Rockefeller University who discovered the disease in cottontail rabbits in the 1930s.
The SPV has likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations.
On the Science Alert website, veterinarian Laurie Hess was quoted saying: "It's (SPV) been around forever, it's a virus, it's nothing new and it's being sensationalised because people are seeing what it can do to wild rabbits.
"These rabbits look freakish but usually these (growths) are benign things, sometimes they will kind of fall off and go away."
Meanwhile, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told The Associated Press that the agency has been getting calls about the rabbits seen in Fort Collins.
But she said that it is not uncommon to see infected rabbits, especially in the summer, when the fleas and ticks that spread the virus are most active.
Van Hoose added that the virus can spread from rabbit to rabbit but not to other species, including humans and pets.
The growths, called papillomas, are wart-like growths on the rabbit's skin, and it is made of keratin - a protein also found in our hair and nails.
Just as the related human papillomavirus can cause cancer in people, the SPV can develop into cancerous growths in rabbits. The disease is more likely to become malignant in domestic rabbits.
The growths resemble warts but can look like horns if they grow longer, Van Hoose said.
She was reported saying that the growths do not harm rabbits unless they grow on their eyes or mouths and interfere with eating, adding that the rabbits’ immune systems can fight the virus and, once they do, the growths will disappear.
So far, these rabbits have only appeared in the US, and there is no such reports of the SPV in Malaysia or Asia. But if you want to know more about keeping a rabbit as a pet, check this out: https://www.thestar.com.my/
References:
1. https://www.
3. https://www.sciencealert.com/
