Local residents described the rabbits as having “black quills or black toothpicks” growing out of their faces.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife's (CPW) website, the black growths on the rabbits' heads are due to a grimmer, more reality-based reason — a viral infection called the cottontail rabbit papillomavirus.

Cottontail rabbits in Colorado have started growing tentacle-like horns out of their heads, but the explanation is relatively mundane.