• June 25, 2006
• Australia, Drop Bear, Wildlife

The Drop Bear is a rare and often unseen animal living in the edges of woodland and forests of Australia. The Drop Bear, or phascolarctos arboricola, is an old genus of the Koala family and has been given the common name Drop Bear because of it’s habits being closer to a bear than the eucalyptus eating marsupial cousin.

Drop Bears are known to eat meat, living off whatever animals it can find. The Drop Bear will live in the trees and attacks by literally dropping out the tree onto its prey. Danger comes rarely to humans as their numbers are few and Drop Bears hunt alone, not risking attacking larger numbers of animals. Instead the Drop Bear will pick on single or pairs of animals or humans.

The Drop Bear is of a similar size to the now extinct Phascolarctos Stirtoni, or Giant Koala. Weighing up to, and sometimes beyond, 15Kg. A ferocious animal which lives alone, except during the mating season, and has little respect for other animals. The Drop Bear is also much faster than its koala cousins. On the ground the Drop Bear can exceed speeds of 30Kmh, comparable to some wombats.

The effects of a Drop Bear attack can be swift. Despite the similarity to the koala, the Drop Bear is a much faster animal and its size and weight provides quite a surprise for anyone attacked. If being hit on the head by a Drop Bear isn’t enough the vicious attack is nearly always fatal. Sharp teeth and sharper claws will rip into flesh. An attack will generally leave a victim alive while being eaten.

Australians generally recognise the Drop Bear and warn visitors against sleeping under trees or wandering too far into the bush alone. However, because of the dangers the Australian Government doesn’t publicise its existence due to a fear of losing tourism in some of the more beautiful areas of the country. Sharks or crocodiles are much more prevalent and it is far easier to keep tourists away from those animals. Drop Bears will hide themselves in the trees, waiting for the next meal to come along.

Very few people have ever even seen a Drop Bear. Many Aussies will tell you they’ve seen them but most will be liars. Seeing a Drop Bear can be fatal. If you can see one then it can smell you and the Drop Bear, if hungry, will come after you and attack.

Living mainly off the kangaroo population, Drop Bears are hard to find. It is rumoured that due to the small numbers left in the wild some Australia’s nature reserves such as Australia Zoo or Healsville Sanctuary keep a small number hidden and protected. Hunting Drop Bears is illegal although asking the right Bush Ranger can provide a hunting trip into the Bush.

Most Drop Bear attacks are kept quiet, largely because they are not even known about. Given the nature of Australia’s wildlife an attack and subsequent death often goes unknown. Dead animals and humans become part of the greater food chain. There are a vast number of disappearances in Australia that are blamed on other animals, serial killers, extreme weather conditions and naive tourists.

The famous disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain remains controversial because of the claims of a dingo taking Azaria. Government officials and police suspected a Drop Bear attack and kept the cover-up by prosecuting Azaria’s parents, Michael and Lindy Chamberlain.

Such conditions in the Australian mountains and skiing resorts are ideal for the Mountain Drop Bear. These variants are whiter in colour and hide in the snow waiting for a wayward skier or walker.

Take heed the next time an Aussie warns you about Drop Bears in the trees.

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