Drop bear

[9] Other early appearances in print include a Royal Australian Navy News article in 1978[10] and a classified advertisement in the Canberra Times in 1982.Stories about drop bears are generally used as an in-joke intended to frighten and confuse outsiders while amusing locals, similar to North American "fearsome critters" such as the jackalope.[12][13] These tales are often accompanied by advice that the hearer adopt various tactics purported to deter drop bear attacks—including placing forks in the hair, having Vegemite or toothpaste spread behind the ears or in the armpits, urinating on oneself, and only speaking English in an Australian accent.The entry classifies the drop bear as Thylarctos plummetus and describes them as "a large, arboreal, predatory marsupial related to the koala", the size of a leopard, having coarse orange fur with dark mottling, with powerful forearms for climbing and attacking prey, and a bite made using broad powerful premolars rather than canines.[24] Incisions on bones of the extinct kangaroo Macropus titan suggest Thylacoleo fed in a similar way to modern cheetahs, using their sharp teeth to slice open the ribcage of their prey, thereby accessing the internal organs.
A koala walking along a branch, away from viewer
The koala is the main inspiration for the myth of the drop bear.
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