The Legend Of Drop Bears Explained

Like the creatures themselves, the origin of how they came to be one of Australia's biggest tongue-in-cheek legends is shrouded in mystery. According to some sources, including The Missoulian, the myth originated during World War II. Louise Scott of Perth, Australia, told the newspaper in 2010 that Aussie soldiers, sick of hearing about all the

Like the creatures themselves, the origin of how they came to be one of Australia's biggest tongue-in-cheek legends is shrouded in mystery. According to some sources, including The Missoulian, the myth originated during World War II. Louise Scott of Perth, Australia, told the newspaper in 2010 that Aussie soldiers, sick of hearing about all the bears in the U.S. from American GIs, came up with the legend of the drop bear to scare the Americans. The 1980s Australian rock band Drop Bears told The Sydney Morning Herald a similar story in a 1983 interview.

Other origin stories of the drop bear include a comedy sketch by the Australian comedian and actor Paul Hogan — better known to Americans as "Crocodile Dundee" for the role he played in the hit 1980s films, per CNN. He had an Australian TV show that included a sketch called "Wreckers of the Lost Park" (a send-up of "Raiders of the Lost Ark") in which killer koalas dropped from trees and attacked him. But Australian author Ian Coate told CNN he recalled hearing about drop bears while at scout camp in the early 1970s, predating Hogan's TV show.

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