According to the Bureau of Land Management Utah, bears have been sighted in Grandstaff Canyon and along the Colorado River, in the Dewey Bridge to Hittle Bottom area. So if you are hiking or boating around Moab, officials are asking you to take extra precautions.

Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including "Frankenstein bunnies," "demon rabbits" and "zombie rabbits."

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have identified the cause as shope papillomavirus, a rabbit-only virus with no cure that produces wart-like tumours known as papillomas, particularly around the face and head of cottontail rabbits, 9NEWS reports.