Drop Bears, Australia and an Enduring Prank on Non-Aussies

The image doesn't look real because it's not. Nicole Antonio / DALL-E

Drop bears are one of the most fearsome creatures in the Outback. At least, that’s what some would have you believe. The Canberra Times once warned that drop bears in Australia might be lurking in the bush, just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to pass beneath their trees.

Australia’s infamous drop bear legend is more rural country myth than true marsupial menace. However, the legend has persisted in the imaginations of newcomers and tourists who hope to avoid falling victim to the many deadly creatures of the Australian Outback.

Contents

The Origins of the Drop Bear Myth
How to Avoid Drop Bears (If They Were Real)
What If the Drop Bears Stories Were Real?
Conservation Efforts for an Animal That Doesn’t Exist

The Origins of the Drop Bear Myth

The drop bear legend has been passed down through generations of Australians who have described it as a predatory marsupial related to the koala.

This fictional species is said to climb high into trees before leaping down to attack its prey — most often tourists and foreign army soldiers unfamiliar with the local wildlife.

Many believe this brilliantly mischievous myth originated in Sydney or South Wales, with early settlers playing pranks on new arrivals.

Others credit the Australian Museum for keeping the joke alive with evidence such as fabricated "sightings" of drop bears with coarse orange fur and powerful forearms built for ambushing ground-dwelling animals.

How to Avoid Drop Bears (If They Were Real)

According to seasoned storytellers, the best ways to avoid drop bears include:

Put a dab of toothpaste spread behind your ears.
Adopt Australian accents (since drop bears target tourists).
Wear a neck guard, since the most dangerous drop bear attacks could result in a precise bite to the neck.
If attacked and quickly subdued by this ferocious marsupial, curl into a ball to protect major arteries and internal organs.

Of course, real predators don’t base their hunting strategies on someone's hair, speech or personal hygiene products.

What If the Drop Bears Stories Were Real?

Rumor-spreaders say drop bears inhabit closed-canopy forests, using their powerful forearms to latch onto trees and launch a vicious airborne assault. Their claws would have to be strong enough to grip bark, yet sharp enough to incapacitate prey after the initial impact.

Unlike ground-dwelling animals, they'd rely on stealth rather than speed to take down their targets. With their supposed koala ancestry, they’d likely be obligate carnivores preying on small mammals, with rare encounters with larger humans.

Conservation Efforts for an Animal That Doesn’t Exist

Even though the drop bear myth is just a fabrication, there’s still something to learn from how people react to it. The fact that so many are willing to believe in (or at least humor) the drop bear legend speaks to our collective fascination with mysterious creatures and cryptids.

Some university researchers have even gone to such lengths to "study" drop bears as part of an elaborate joke. For example, the University of Queensland once published a paper suggesting that drop bears prefer to attack people without Australian accents.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.