oddly enough

oddly enough

Unusual Minnesota rabbit video attracts attention

MANKATO, Minn.

A southern Minnesota college student’s spoof video of an apparently tumorous rabbit that he dubbed “Frankenstein” has attracted hundreds of thousands of Internet viewers.

Gunnar Boettcher, a 20-year-old student at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, and his brother took photos and video of the rabbit, which looks to have tumors growing on its head, June 26.

“We’ve seen it before around the house, but we’ve never been able to get a close look,” Boettcher said. “But we went over to him that day, and he didn’t run away like he normally does.”

In the video, titled “The World’s Scariest Rabbit,” Boettcher speaks in an Australian accent, imitating the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin.

Boettcher put it on Facebook, and a friend of his posted it to Reddit. Within four days, more than 200,000 people had watched, according to The Free Press of Mankato.

Boettcher last saw the rabbit Wednesday night. He thinks it might have a papilloma virus that’s a form of cancer.

Joe Stangel, area wildlife supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources, said he also suspects that is what it is but is waiting for confirmation from a veterinarian. It’s not an uncommon ailment in rabbits, Stangel said, but he’s not seen it on the top of the head. It’s generally a fatal ailment, he said, noting the DNR would just let nature take its course.

Some of the video comments haven’t been particularly kind to Boettcher. Some say it’s wrong to get a few laughs from a disease that certainly will kill the animal. Others say he has a responsibility to get it some veterinary help.

Boettcher disagrees.

“It’s a great idea to try to help him and make him healthy again, but it’s a little ridiculous to blame me for not helping the rabbit and taking him to the vet when it’s a wild rabbit,” he said.

Bull escapes slaughterhouse, hits woman on motor scooter

GIRARD, Pa.

State police say a bull that escaped as it was being unloaded at a slaughterhouse instead rammed a woman on a motor scooter in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Troopers from the barracks in Girard say 30-year-old Nicole Morton was taken to an Erie hospital after the incident about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Her condition wasn’t immediately available Thursday.

The Erie Times-News reports the bull was one of four bovines that escaped while being unloaded at McDonald Meats in Girard Township. A woman who answered the company’s phone Thursday declined to comment.

But police say the bull that lunged at Morton and the other cows had to be shot by police who responded to the scene.

The bulls were going to be butchered had they not escaped.

Associated Press