While they may resemble koalas, drop bears are much more aggressive and frightening. They are the stuff of nightmares for anyone venturing into the woods.
When you arrive in Australia and inquire about the “drop bear”, most Australians will describe it as an extremely fierce predator with sharp teeth, having a striking resemblance to a koala. They recount tales of victims with severe injuries or even close calls with this ferocious creature, as reported by CNN.
However, you will find yourself laughing at your fear once you learn that it is all just a joke.
Most countries have mythical creatures that live in folklore but have never actually been seen. Think of dragons, the Yeti, or the Loch Ness Monster. The drop bear is a similar mythical entity.
Drop bear – the most ferocious and mysterious fictional creature in Australia. (Image: CNN).
The Humor of Australians
Hardly any Australians genuinely believe in the existence of this creature. Most use the legend of the drop bear simply to scare people, often foreigners.
A local might warn a foreign tourist, “Watch out for drop bears” as they prepare to explore wooded areas. When tourists express curiosity about the creature, Australians describe it as a fierce predator with claws that can jump down from trees at any moment.
Ian Coate, author and founder of the website Mythic Australia, states: “Tourists become worried and look up at the trees. It’s quite an amusing reaction. That’s the essence of Australian humor.”
Yet, there are always those who know how to elevate the joke about this fictional creature to new heights. For instance, the Australian Museum even created a fake news bulletin on its website warning of the dangers posed by this non-existent animal.
“Once it spots its prey, the drop bear will leap down from a height of 8 meters and strike the victim’s head. This move will stun the prey, allowing the creature to easily bite into the victim’s neck and take them down quickly,” the website states.
The Origin of the Legend
Although the legend of the drop bear is quite famous worldwide, its true origins remain largely unknown.
According to the National Library of Australia, the drop bear was first mentioned casually in 1982 in The Canberra Times, an Australian newspaper.
“TAM – Be careful of drop bears, remember that, love Clint,” reads a message from the paper’s 21st Birthdays section. It is unclear who TAM or Clint were.
Elements of the drop bear legend resurfaced in a segment of Australian comedian Paul Hogan’s show, known worldwide primarily by his nickname “Crocodile Dundee.” The segment was part of “The Paul Hogan Show,” aired during the 1970s and 1980s.
In one scene, Hogan parodies a moment from Indiana Jones, where a character named Cootamundra Hoges is exploring the fictional Goannas Valley and is attacked by killer koalas. The koalas jump down from the trees and start clawing at Hogan, who falls to the ground as a swarm of creatures surrounds him.
Photoshopped image depicting a drop bear swooping down on a family walking in the woods. (Image: Courtesy of Mythic Australia).
However, Coate from Mythic Australia claims he has heard stories of drop bears dating back to the early 1970s, before Hogan’s show aired.
“When camping, people often talk about drop bears to keep campers from straying too far from the site,” he recounts. Coate adds that he was warned that if he wandered into densely wooded areas, he would be attacked by a drop bear.
It’s unclear when drop bears became the “boogeyman” that terrified rural Australian children. Gradually, these stories evolved into scare tactics for tourists as we know them today.
Interestingly, the first foreigners to be frightened by the drop bear stories were not tourists, Coate notes.
He recounts that when he joined the military in the late 1980s, British or American soldiers would occasionally come to train in the woods. Typically, they would ask local soldiers how to avoid snakes and poisonous spiders.
Aussie soldiers would respond, “Forget about the snakes and spiders; it’s the drop bears you need to watch out for,” Coate recalls. He remembers advising them that the only way to avoid a drop bear was to smear Vegemite—a black, salty spread with a somewhat unpleasant smell—on their faces.
“Always, we’d give visiting soldiers a jar of Vegemite. It would take them a few days to realize that the stuff they smeared on their faces had no effect whatsoever,” he chuckles.
Becoming a Cultural Icon
While the exact moment the drop bear legend emerged is unclear, the timeline for when this fictional creature began to infiltrate Australian pop culture is quite evident.
In 1981, bass player Chris Toms and his New Zealand friend Johnny Batchelor formed a band called Drop Bears.
Batchelor shared that he had never heard about drop bears in New Zealand. It wasn’t until he arrived in Australia that he heard his friend Toms ramble on about them. Toms, who grew up in rural New South Wales, had heard plenty about this fearsome creature and described it as an Australian ghost story.
“He said that people tell drop bear stories to scare people, like kids, for example,” Batchelor recounted.
Initially, both were quite excited about the name. However, Batchelor later felt weary of it. No matter where they went to film or perform, they had to answer the question, “What is a drop bear?”
“It felt like a burden. This isn’t what we wanted,” he said.
Photoshopped depiction of a drop bear. (Image: Wikimedia).
Batchelor believes the phenomenon of drop bears is not only tied to Australian humor but also reflects national pride in their dangerous native creatures.
Even without drop bears, Australia is famous for its deadly animals, including numerous species of sharks, snakes, and the two most venomous spiders in the world.
He stated: “They love to impress foreigners (with their dangerous animals). Nowadays, kids in Australia are less scared by these stories; it’s the tourists who are more frightened.”
If the band Drop Bears had formed in 2000, they might not have had to explain their name as often. In the age of the Internet, the legend of the drop bear is becoming increasingly popular.
In January 2020, according to Google Trends, searches for drop bears surpassed even those for the Loch Ness Monster and the American jackalope. This is partly due to the drop bear’s growing presence in Australian media and culture.
In 2004, Bundaberg Rum released an advertisement featuring a group of locals attempting to strike up a conversation with some German tourists by warning them about the deadly predator.
In 2013, Australian Geographic published an April Fools’ article titled Drop bears target tourists, study says.
In January 2020, a video of a British journalist working for ITV went viral on social media. In the video, she was teased by staff at a wildlife sanctuary. They outfitted the female reporter in protective gear before allowing her to embrace a deadly drop bear, which turned out to be just a harmless koala. Of course, the British reporter was genuinely worried before hugging the bear.
The joke about drop bears has spread across travel websites, making it more popular than ever.
A British reporter in protective gear hugging a koala, believing the drop bear was real. (Image: ITV News).
Seeing the rapid spread of the drop bear legend, Batchelor, a member of the band Drop Bears, believes that this fictional creature is gradually losing its allure and mystery as it becomes more widely known.
“Its power may change. Once people have seen and read about it too much on the Internet, the stories about this creature will become dull. It would be far more interesting if someone told you about a frightening creature that you thought was real,” he remarked.
However, while people are beginning to believe that all stories about drop bears are fictional, a surprising “twist” has emerged. Recent discoveries suggest that Australia may have once had a deadly predator that jumped from trees to catch its prey.
Archaeological evidence points to a prehistoric marsupial lion, scientifically known as thylacoleo carnifex. This species is believed to have lived and hunted in Australia thousands of years ago. They possessed excellent climbing and jumping abilities. Many people speculate that this creature is the true origin of the drop bear legend.
