What is a Drop Bear?

The Australian continent is well known for its terrifying creatures. Venomous spiders, phenomenally dangerous snakes, fearsome great white sharks and killer crocodiles are par for the course.

Drop by any Australian country town, however, and the locals will tell you all about the animal you should really fear. Every Australian justifiably fears the Drop Bear.

Bear is the wrong name, however. Bears are not native to Australia, and koalas are not bears. The Drop Bear is a far more vicious type of koala. They have longer claws, they’re not nearly as sleepy as koalas and they have been known to actively stalk humans.

Is the Drop Bear something you’re likely to encounter in Australia, though? Well, it depends where you are. They are much more prevalent on the east coast than the west coast. They tend to like forest habitat in national parks such as the Kondalilla National Park near Montville on the Sunshine Coast, or Eungella National Park near Airlie Beach.

A Drop Bear can also be encountered in green areas on the outskirts of popular tourist towns such as Lorne, Mooloolaba, Byron Bay and Yamba, however.

Fictional accounts of attacks overplay this marsupial’s bloodthirstiness. Generally, it will only leap out of a tree and attack a human if it is trying to mate.

Creature awareness campaigns, however, neglect to mention that Drop Bears are almost always trying to mate.

Made to choose between a potential mate and a perceived threat, a Drop Bear will jump out of a tree and launch itself at the supposed competition. It can move very fast, and will go in claws flailing. The initial target will be the eyes.

Up to ten minutes of onslaught will then ensue. When a Drop Bear decides to attack, it is genuinely ferocious. Claws will fly wildly, aiming to cause as much damage as possible.

To survive an attack, submission is a useless weapon. Drop Bears sense fear and weakness, and once they believe they are on top, they will maim for fun before killing. The only way to survive an attack is to confuse the Drop Bear.

Scare a Drop Bear if you can. An evil laugh, like a vampire in a horror movie, will generally make them back off. As will deep, guttural singing. Attempt to sing something like Black Betty in the style of Sepultura, and the Drop Bear will climb back up the tree.

Tourists should make sure they read the first word of every paragraph in this article.