Drop bear

A koala walking along a branch, away from viewer
The koala (pictured) is the main inspiration for the myth of the drop bear.

The drop bear (sometimes dropbear) is a hoax in contemporary Australian folklore featuring a predatory, carnivorous version of the koala. This imaginary animal is commonly spoken about in tall tales designed to scare tourists. While koalas are typically docile herbivores (and are not bears), drop bears are described as unusually large and vicious marsupials that inhabit treetops and attack unsuspecting people (or other prey) that walk beneath them by dropping onto their heads from above.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

  1. ^ Lang, Anouk (2010). "Troping the Masculine: Australian Animals, the Nation, and the Popular Imagination". Antipodes. 24 (1).
  2. ^ Staff Writers. Herald Sun, 24 October 2014. "Australia’s greatest hoaxes: the pranks that tricked a nation".
  3. ^ Switek, Brian. Slate, "These Horrifying Creatures Ought to Be Movie Stars".
  4. ^ David Wood, "Yarns spun around campfire Archived 10 May 2005 at the Wayback Machine", in Country News, byline, 2 May 2005, accessed 4 April 2008
  5. ^ Janssen, Volker (2012). "Indirect Tracking of Drop Bears Using GNSS Technology". Australian Geographer. 43 (4): 445–452. doi:10.1080/00049182.2012.731307. S2CID 41382932.
  6. ^ Seal, Graham (2010). Great Australian Stories: Legends, Yarns and Tall Tales. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 136. ISBN 9781458716811.