A drop bear (or dropbear) is a mythical Australian marsupial supposedly related to the koala. Binomial name Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss, 1817 A koala in the Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria. ...

File links The following pages link to this file: Drop Bear ...

Drop bears are commonly said to be unusually large, carnivorous, vicious koalas who inhabit treetops and attack their prey by dropping onto their heads from above. They are a part of local lore intended to frighten and confuse outsiders, and amuse locals. This article deals with meat-eating animals. ...

Unsuspecting foreigners are often told that doing ridiculous things like having forks in their hair will deter the beasts.

The modern legend of the drop bear is descended from Australian Aboriginal legends. Stories of the creature may be related to the Phascolarctos stirtoni or the carnivorous Phascolarctos involus, which belong to a group of extinct animals known as Australian megafauna. The prehistoric creatures were approximately twice the size of modern koalas. In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Following is an incomplete list of Australian megafauna, in the format: Latin name, (common name, if applicable), and a brief description. ...

See also

• Fictional national animals
• Bunyip
• Yowie
• Jackalope

Many nations around the world have mythical animals which are widely believed to not exist and for which there is little or no scientific evidence, but which are nevertheless well known and, in a sense, popular. ... A bunyip (devil or spirit) is a mythical Australian Aboriginal mythology. ... The Yowie is a rare cultivar of the marijuana plant, also known as the Maui-Wowy. ... The great American jackalope The jackalope (Lepus temperamentalus) is a fictitious cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope (or sometimes a goat or deer), and is usually portrayed as a rabbit with antlers. ...

External links

• Drop Bears: Terror of the Australian Bush (http://www.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/subjects/english/fant/drop.htm) - resource links from Trinity College, Perth, Western Australia.