If you have ever spent any time in the great outdoors in Australia, especially in areas with lots of trees, a ‘helpful’ Aussie may have warned you to watch out for drop bears. When you put drop bear into a search engine, you’re likely to come across its ‘entry’ on the Australian Museum’s website. After reading this serious-sounding entry, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a real animal, rather than a made-up story or a tale.

According to Australian folklore, a drop bear is an animal that resembles a koala, lives in trees, and drops down on unsuspecting tourists in order to attack them. The origins of this fictional story are unknown, but there are some possible explanations. My favourite is that it started as a trick played on overseas soldiers who were visiting Australia for training purposes. This explanation appears to be substantiated by articles published in the Australian Army newspaper, ‘Army’, in 1967 and 1976 which specifically mention drop bear.

Tall tales about this mythical marsupial are often accompanied by folk remedies which are meant to deter it. According to the Australian Museum: “these include having forks in the hair or Vegemite or toothpaste spread behind the ears.”  However, as there is no evidence that any of these remedies act as an effective repellent, you could try another suggested remedy…speaking with an Aussie accent. So, the next time an Aussie warns you about drop bears you can say, “No worries, mate, I’ve got a brolly!”

Glossary