In the latest GN front page, there is a story about outback nasties etc, and it mentions "Drop Bears".........can anyone tell me what they are?   See this bit or read the front page;

"Venomous snakes by the bucketload! Dingoes! Crocodiles! Drop Bears the list goes on and on."

I have never heard the term before so my Ozzie education must be sadly lacking.

Thanks
Vic

Hi  ..

IMO you are more likely to encounter drop bears after a prolonged session on the famous Bundaberg Rum.

Damn!! i thought a session on the famous Bundaberg rum was the antidote. VHW. are you from W.A? Don't think you get them over there. Not allowed past the quarantine check point. Johnw

Thanks for the feedback Thommo, I had never heard of it before.....yes I am from WA but we have Swan Lager over here as an antidote !

I remember many years ago we had an Army exercise with the CMF (now called Army Reserves) in the bush in NSW.   Lots of young blokes there who had never been away from their city homes before.   Around the campfire one night there were lots of possum noises in the trees and one of the young blokes asked what they were.  One of the older wags told him they were "Lark Lucasses", a sponge like creature that dropped down at night and crawled onto the face of sleeping campers smothering them to death........all the youngies (those that believed it) could not sleep that night in case a "Lark Lucas" came upon them in the night while they were asleep! 

-- Edited by VHW on Sunday 19th of September 2010 01:12:20 PM

We have these Drop Bears on Magnetic island, and have trained them onlyto prey on the tourists. They have interbred with the local koala population, and are the reason all the backpackers are always bumping into trees as they are always walking around with their heads in the air, just in case.A definate menace, these drop bears.............

-- Edited by bill12 on Sunday 19th of September 2010 02:02:41 PM

I think the Bloke in the van next to is married to one. LOL.
ozjohn.

Watch Em, they,re dangerous

They are almost as dangeroous as the good old hoop snake we used to scare the yanks with......oh and don't forget the Gawombachooks as well........ An I thought it was the posums on the island Bill, they are just as ferocious as any dropbear......(Lived in Townsville for 20 odd years) Hoo Roo Happy Days Grumps

thommo wrote:

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Vic,

The following quote is from:

 http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drop%20bear

Form your own conclusion!!!!!!!!!


"A native to the australian outback, the drop bear is a mysterious, yet chillingly savage member of the marsupial family. If you are unlucky enough to pitch a tent under a tree inhabited by a drop bear, and rouse it from it's slumber, be prepared for pain country! It will drop from the tree, latching onto your face (a la the facehugger from the alien)and proceeds to rid you of any good looks you may (or may not) have once had. Only known deterrant is a generous smearing of vegemite behind the ears. It saved me once and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Australian tree-dwelling marsupial, found mostly in bushland areas, but also known to live in inner-city parks.
The drop bear is characterised by it's unusual defense mechanism - when the male senses danger, the drop bear glides or 'drops' down from it's perch and uses it's powerful hind spur to barb the enemy's eyes.

A Fictional animal created by the country of Australia to scare tourists, this national joke has extended to the point of folklore amongst aussies.

According to the story: The drop bear is similar in appearance to the Koala however it is extremely fast (much unlike the Koala) and mysterious, razor sharp claws and the unusual tendancy to drop from high trees to attack people walking under the tree. The bear then goes about decapitating/maiming the victem then disappears into the night.

This story has been used many a time to convince neive tourists, who are already convinced everything in australia wants to kill them that even the crowded city isn't safe because every tree may potentially harbor a bear."

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Bugger!!!  I was going to say that, but you got it in a nutshell

 

We do have carniverous possums on the island, but we have trained them to only eat galvanised roofing tin, which is whythey do the 3 o.clock walze every night on my roof. Its feeding , you see.And I have never seen a place with more. Perhaps, we should interbreed then with the vampire drop bears?

Actually its the rabbit proof fence that keeps them out of WA

THE DO DROP BEAR AKA Drop Dead Bear Way down south in Tassie, where the apples grow and where the Tassie tiger lurks in all that ice and snow. There lives a weird creature who hasnt any hair, it lives up high in Myrtle trees, its called the Do Drop Bear! Now the Do Drop Bear is different, it likes to do drop in!
It plummets from the trees above as silent as a pin. On unsuspecting tourists, it drops down from the sky, it licks their faces with its tongue and pokes them in the eye. This cheeky little beggar is hardly ever seen, theres no trace of where its got to or even where its been And when the tourist tattles on this impolitish bear, no one seems to listen and no one seems to care. The Do Drop Bear has struck again and left its fiendish mark on the unsuspecting tourist who went out after dark. So be careful tourists from the mainland when you go out of a night, not of the Tassie tiger or devils that may bite! But beware the Do Drop Bear, it will set your head a spin, beware this weird creature, for it may just DO DROP IN! Often mistaken for Australia's mostly cuddly looking marsupial (the koala), the dropbear is perhaps the most dangerous animal on the planet. This nasty creature relies on it's cuddly looking appearance to attack unsuspecting tourists who attempt to hold it or have their photograph taken with it. Many tourists have been lulled into a false sense of security when the dropbear has pretended to be it's more sleepy and cuddly cousin. If it cannot fool it's victim readily, the dropbear will drop down from the trees to attack with it's large retractable claws and wickedly sharp 12 centimeter fangs. You may notice that many Australians spray a repellant on themselves called Aeroguard. There is no documentary evidence to prove that Aeroguard does in fact repel dropbears however there have been no reported attacks on people who have worn the repellant. A beneficial effect of the dropbear repellant is that it repels insects and this is how it is marketed. During summer you may notice that there are many official government warnings disguised as advertisements where the last thing is said is "Don't forget your Aeroguard." The only thing that has managed to protect the rest of the world from the predations of the dropbear has been the relative isolation of Australia. However, in recent years the Australian government has decided to increase tourism to Australia with particular emphasis on our unique wildlife. There is however, one particular form of wildlife that the government does not want to bring attention to and that is the Dropbear. Australians are regularly warned against mentioning the Dropbear in public and in private and it is an especially taboo subject with foreign guests. Special laws have been enacted that prevent people from talking about the Dropbear and there are undercover police whose job it is to find people who are all too willing to talk about Dropbears. It is no mere coincidence that Australia is one of the most highly urbanised countries in the world with vast unoccupied land populated with Dropbears. And then there is the 'Dingo' fence which is supposed to stop the movement of the dingo (a wild dog found in Australia). Why is the fence over 6 feet high? It's because we know that it is the maximum height a dropbear can jump from a prone position. The real reason for the fence is to limit the movement of populations of dropbears. It is hoped that by limiting their gene pool that they will become inbred and die out as poisoning, shooting etc haven't worked in the past. Even destroying one of their food sources (the rabbit) via the Calcivirus has not had a significant impact on their numbers. Think that a dingo really took a baby? Think that one of our prime ministers disappeared while swimming near a beach? Think again, it's only what the Australian authorities want you to believe, the truth being far more terrifying. A rare form of aquatic dropbear is believed responsible for the disappearance of Prime Minister Harold Holt while he was skin diving off a secluded beach. Shark nets have been erected at popular beaches, ostensibly to protect swimmers from sharks but the real reason is to prevent aquatic dropbears from mauling sharks which have become an endangered species since the recent evolution of this creature. It is also to prevent aquatic dropbears from swimming out to boats and somehow managing to make their way to other countries. A legend is told of two Australian bush-men on their annual cattle muster. On this particular night, after setting up camp, one of the bush-men went down to the river to check the fish traps, while the other stayed by the camp fire strumming a tune on his faithful old guitar.Just as he ended his first tune a terrifying scream rang out. Leaving the safety of the camp fire he ran down through the bush to the river to see his mate lying on the ground shaking, with claw marks all over him. After stopping the bleeding and calming his mate down, the horrible truth was revealed. "It was a drop bear" his mate said, in a voice more like a whimper,"I just reached for the first fish trap and all of a sudden, out of that overhanging branch pounced a drop bear." "I fought as hard as I could but it was just too strong and far too fast."."Did ya get a glimpse of it?", the first bushy said. "A bit of a one, It looked a-lot like a koala, but much much meaner." Leaving all their camping gear behind, they speedily trekked out of the bush, back to civilization to tell their story to the local authorities. Their story was duly noted and recorded, but to this day no one has ever caught a drop bear, but be assured they exist, so be very careful when walking alone in the Australian bush.

S*t the previous reply is way to much to read

villatranquilla wrote:

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Actually its the rabbit proof fence that keeps them out of WA

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That fence is far too flimsy to be effective......check out the Great Wall they had to build to keep the rabbits out of China