{"id":101,"date":"2025-08-22T14:21:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starloop.site\/?p=101"},"modified":"2025-08-22T14:21:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:21:34","slug":"from-zombie-squirrels-to-rabid-attacks-whats-really-happening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starloop.site\/?p=101","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFrom \u2018Zombie\u2019 Squirrels to Rabid Attacks \u2013 What\u2019s Really Happening?!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just when you thought the creepy stories of Colorado\u2019s so-called \u201cFrankenstein rabbits\u201d and \u201czombie squirrels\u201d were enough nightmare fuel, a new unsettling sight is making the rounds online: deer covered in dark, warty \u201cflesh bubbles.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bizarre-looking animals have been spotted in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with photos quickly spreading across social media.<\/p>\n

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One\u00a0Reddit user<\/a>\u00a0shared a snapshot of a deer in their backyard, writing: \u201cNot sure what\u2019s wrong with her or how we can help. Gunshot wound? Tumor? Fireworks? Prion disease? Don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d Another user posted an image of a deer with lumps on its face and chest, simply asking: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with this deer?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Just when you thought the creepy stories of Colorado\u2019s so-called \u201cFrankenstein rabbits\u201d and \u201czombie squirrels\u201d were enough nightmare fuel, a new unsettling sight is making the rounds online: deer covered in dark, warty \u201cflesh bubbles.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What\u2019s really going on?<\/h2>\n

Wildlife experts say the condition is called deer fibroma \u2014 caused by a species-specific papillomavirus. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: \u201cThese manifest as firm, warty growths fixed to the skin of a deer. They vary in size (though most are just a few centimeters in diameter), are typically dark in color and bare of fur, and often appear fissured or lumpy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most deer only develop a handful of small fibromas, but larger, more widespread cases aren\u2019t unusual. The good news? Deer fibroma isn\u2019t contagious to humans or other animals outside the deer population.<\/p>\n

How do deer spread it?<\/h2>\n

Dr. Kristin Mansfield, a wildlife veterinarian in Washington state, told\u00a0FOX13<\/a>\u00a0that deer pass the virus to each other by sharing space:<\/p>\n

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\u201dJust like the human warts, they come from direct contact,\u201d Dr. Manfield said.<\/p>\n

\u201dMaybe sharing the same rubbing post, maybe congregating where people are feeding them, and they\u2019re in close contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like warts in humans, these growths might cause some itching for the deer \u2014 but that\u2019s about it. And for hunters worried about the animal\u2019s condition, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says the meat is still safe to eat.<\/p>\n

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Amy Evenstad \/ Flickr<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re limited to the skin, and you can just cut them off,\u201d Dr. Mansfield explained.<\/p>\n

Although the growths themselves aren\u2019t dangerous to humans, deer do carry ticks \u2014 which can spread illnesses like Lyme disease in communities where deer are abundant.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, in most cases, a deer\u2019s immune system fights the virus naturally, and the warts shrink and disappear over time.<\/p>\n

Can it be treated?<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no real treatment for fibroma in wild deer.<\/p>\n

For captive animals, the lumps can sometimes be removed surgically, but otherwise, experts recommend leaving infected deer alone. In rare situations where growths prevent a deer from eating, moving, or seeing, euthanasia is considered.<\/p>\n

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Why are we seeing more \u201cmutant Animals\u201d?<\/h2>\n

Experts believe climate change could be playing a role. Warmer temperatures allow mosquitoes and ticks \u2014 which help spread viruses and diseases \u2014 to thrive.<\/p>\n

Dr. Omer Awan of the University of Maryland School of Medicine explained to The Daily Mail: \u201cThese temperature changes are resulting in diseases that were never endemic in certain areas to become endemic. If you take a look at Lyme disease, for example, we\u2019re starting to see it in areas that we never saw it before\u2026 places like southern Canada, northern states on the East Coast, like Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n

And because more people are documenting these unusual cases online, Awan added, \u201cPeople are starting to talk about it more, they\u2019re starting to document it more on social media, and hence, there\u2019s been a lot more discussion about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while the sight of \u201cmutant deer\u201d covered in bubbling growths may be shocking, experts say it\u2019s not a threat to humans.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still, the eerie trend of animals developing strange, virus-driven appearances across the U.S. has many wondering \u2014 is this just the start of something bigger<\/strong><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just when you thought the creepy stories of Colorado\u2019s so-called \u201cFrankenstein rabbits\u201d and \u201czombie squirrels\u201d were enough nightmare fuel, a new unsettling sight is making […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cFrom \u2018Zombie\u2019 Squirrels to Rabid Attacks \u2013 What\u2019s Really Happening?! - starloop<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/starloop.site\/?p=101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cFrom \u2018Zombie\u2019 Squirrels to Rabid Attacks \u2013 What\u2019s Really Happening?!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just when you thought the creepy stories of Colorado\u2019s so-called \u201cFrankenstein rabbits\u201d and \u201czombie squirrels\u201d were enough nightmare fuel, a new unsettling sight is making [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/starloop.site\/?p=101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"starloop\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-22T14:21:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/starloop.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/537238876_1218906683615400_468632721450904173_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e341a3ea5c4c86480f6f97debfcaf50\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cFrom \u2018Zombie\u2019 Squirrels to Rabid Attacks \u2013 What\u2019s Really Happening?!\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-22T14:21:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101\"},\"wordCount\":667,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn-main.newsner.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/11\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/21063311\\\/amy-500x350.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/starloop.site\\\/?p=101\",\"name\":\"\u201cFrom \u2018Zombie\u2019 Squirrels to Rabid Attacks \u2013 What\u2019s Really Happening?! 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