Brothers Gunnar and Zander Boettecher found a rabbit that is sure to catch more than a few eyes in their garden. Why this rabbit in particular? Well, the seemingly mutant rabbit is covered in horns!
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Don’t panic: this isn’t actually a mutant rabbit of nightmares, but rather a sick one. This rabbit caught the Shope papilloma virus or SPV, which causes carcinomas to sprout around the head that resemble horns. Fortunately for us humans, it’s typically rabbits that are touched by the disease.
These tumours, sometimes fatal, often come about after a bite from a tick or mosquito. So next time you see a rabbit covered in horns, you know exactly why it looks so bizarre. So don’t be afraid!
