History Main / YowiesAndBunyipsAndDropBearsOhMy

* There's also the fabled '''Kangawallafox''', which is exactly what it sounds like: a cross between a kangaroo, a wallaby, and a fox. Neither of which is known for being vicious, but there you are.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as soundng an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those), although in truth (as much as you can be with mythical creatures) its apparently just a large lizard monster from mythology of the aborigines of the area.

* The '''Bunyip''' is another creature originating in Aboriginal folklore which has crossed into mainstream Australian culture. However, unlike the Yowie, there is no definitive definition as to what a bunyip actually looks like. Most accounts describe it as some sort of large carnivorous, aquatic creature that dwells in billabongs (seasonal lakes) and rivers, preying on unsuspecting travellers. Some variants claim that it can become invisible, or take the form of a beautiful woman to lure in victims.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as soundng an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those), although in truth (such as it were with mythical creatures) its apparently just a large lizard monster from mythology of the aborigines of the area.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, sounds an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex. Of course Australia has one of those.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, sounds an awful lot like a TyrannosaurusRex. Of course Australia has one of those.

-->--''Fanfic/BoldoresandBoomsticks''

* ''Thylacoleo carnifex'', the marsupial lion, liked to [[TruthInTelevision drop from trees onto its prey]]. Then again, it was four feet long...With thumb claws that could make a raptor crap itself. Even worse, ''Thylacoleo'' used those thumb claws just to hold onto its shrieking prey while ''Thylacoleo's'' uniquely evolved (and incredibly strong) jaws sheared off chunks of meat the size of a child's head. "Shit You Didn't Know About Biology" [[https://sydkab.com/2012/05/17/metatherians-part-1-of-2-extinct-megafauna/#more-66 explains in more detail (about halfway down the page)]] just why ''Thylacoleo'' is so damn terrifying [[PintsizedPowerhouse despite its small size]]. Not surprisingly, one of Thylacoleo's nicknames is the "Drop Cat".

* When Ross and Dan played ''VideoGame/BattleblockTheater'' on ''[[WebVideo/GameGrumps Steam Train]]'', Ross made up a story about koalas dropping out of trees and killing loggers. Dan totally fell for it. He then admits that telling foreigners about dropbears is a common prank in Australia.

** Although, another version of the Drop Bear's origins stem from an Aesop, teaching children not to sit under Eucalyptus and Gum trees (A Koala's natural habitat). Since the sometimes 100-kilogram-plus branches of Gumtrees have a nasty habit of breaking off suddenly...

* '''Hoop Snake''', a special type of snake, able to tuck its tail into its mouth and roll down hills and slopes like a hula hoop, when reaching the bottom of the hill it un-tucks the tail and bites the nearest unsuspecting person. Much like the [[ItAmusedMe Drop Bear, this was created to trick tourists]]. Hoop Snakes have also been sighted in North America; see FearsomeCrittersOfAmericanFolklore.

* ComicBook/{{Nextwave}} fought against [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/dropbears.htm drop bears,]] which were deployed against them by H.A.T.E dropping the little guys out of an airplane. The Drop Bears survive the several hundred-foot plummet.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': There is a gag where Peter visits Australia and starts [[TooDumbToLive poking a sleeping crocodile]] [[BullyingADragon with a stick.]] The crocodile opens its eyes and glares at him, then after a Beat...a koala bear suddenly falls onto Peter's face from offscreen.

* Bunyips appear in the ''SnakeTales'' newspaper strip.

* Alexander Bunyip (see Literature above) had his own TV series called ''AlexanderBunyipsBillabong''.

* There was an educational kids TV series called "Shape Shape Shape" featuring a bunyip and a magical swagman.

* The ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series features bunyips as dragonlike, possibly sentient burrowing animals that lurk near bodies of water and pick off unwary travelers. Think trapdoor spiders the size of wolves. Nearby Aborigines try and fail to convince the protagonists not to camp near a billabong, with predictably terrible results. For extra horror, they are shown to be lightning-fast, and if you're by the water and your friends take their eyes off you for ''just a second''...

* In ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'', the protagonist (a visiting foreigner) has a run-in with a flock of drop bears, surviving because [[spoiler:he's wearing a pointy hat]]. But when he tells people about it nobody believes him because they all know for a fact drop bears are a myth invented to mess with visiting foreigners.

* ''The TabletopGame/DiscworldRoleplayingGame'', acknowledging the appearance of drop bears in ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'' (see above), includes game details for the species and their attack.

* The Bunyip is among the Titans monitored by Monarch in ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'', located around a containment outpost in the middle of the Outback.

** It's also worth noting, however, that when [[CorneredRattleSnake you do manage to tick one off,]] Koalas can be [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds extremely aggressive defenders]] of their young, territory, and personal space. Wild koalas are also some of the meanest, stinkiest, and nastiest animals in the country, with claws covered in septic bacteria, and don't take nicely to annoying humans.

** It's also worth noting, however, that when [[CorneredRattleSnake you do manage to tick one off,]] Koalas can be [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds extremely aggressive defenders]] of their young, territory, and personal space. The fact that they can get this angry while [[TheStoner perpetually blitzed]] suggests that denying a koala its favored diet would be a [[KillerRabbit very bad idea]]. Wild koalas are also some of the meanest, stinkiest, and nastiest animals in the country, with claws covered in septic bacteria, and don't take nicely to annoying humans.

** It should be noted that, although it quite seriously does have claws to rival the knife glove worn by [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] (which it needs in order to climb trees), the Koala is not, in fact, a genuinely dangerous animal. They are nocturnal. During the day their activity level is thus minimal, and even if they weren't half asleep, they would still be far too stoned on eucalyptus oil (from the gum leaves that are the basis of their diet) to be bothered attacking anyone anyway.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. The original ''Fiend Folio'' (1981) had statistics for a bunyip.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' also has stats for the bunyip, as well as several other Australian critters, including the thylacine.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' not only has drop bears, they're '''vampiric'''!

** A variation of the Hoop Snake is the '''Stick Snake''' which looks exactly like a twig, and strikes lightning-fast. It is incredibly deadly and the only hint that you have been bitten is the sound of a twig snapping that the snake makes when it strikes. So if you're walking through the bush and you hear a twig snap... you ''have'' to call the emergency number ''right away!''

* There was a Cadbury's product sold in Australia and the UK called "Yowie", which were hollow chocolate UglyCute CartoonCreature versions of Australian fauna. In the story, the Yowies were all guardians of different kinds of wild habitat, and were ruled by a Bunyip king. They came with a small toy of an endangered animal and a little booklet [[GreenAesop talking about them and why they should be preserved]], and some of the money from sales of the chocolate was donated to rainforest preservation. [[TearJerker "Yowies" are now virtually impossible to find in Australia.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': Phascomon are ''demonic'' drop bears, who hang around in the forests of the Digital World's hell, and attack anyone who passes by with their paralyzing claws.

* ComicBook/{{Nextwave}} fought against [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/dropbears.htm drop bears,]] which were deployed against them by H.A.T.E dropping the little guys out of an airplane. The Drop Bears survive the several hundred foot plummet.

* ''FanFic/TheTwilightChild'': Toward the end of the story a just released Discord decides to make it rain drop bears over Canterlot. A Canterlot under siege from an army of suddenly very confused Changelings. He has them rain by creating giant hovering salt-and-pepper shakers filled with the little things, which shake them out onto the city. The writer confirmed in the notes that this was a deliberate ShoutOut to ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}.

* One of the best known bunyip characters in Australia is Alexander Bunyip, who appeared in a series of children's books starting with ''The Monster That Ate Canberra'' in 1972.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' also has stats for the bunyip, as well as several other australian critters, including the thylacine.

* In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', a werewolf [[{{splat}} tribe]] that managed to make it to Australia and mated with the local thylacine called itself the Bunyip. They went extinct in the 1920's along with the thylacine. The other werewolves helped things along as well, which remains a sore point.

* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has a familiar called the bunyip. Its special ability allows you eat raw fish (when the scroll is used, you see the bunyip eating some fish). It's actually a pretty vital summon for people doing slayer or bossing if their summon level isn't high enough, since it also heals you 2 hp (20 lp) every 15 seconds, which adds up.

* ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'': [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/the-guest-comic-youve-been-waiting-for On a visit to Australia,]] it's revealed that drop bears are real, and that the Australians spread the rumour that they were a myth to scare tourists so the tourists would keep coming. One attacks Jared.
* ''Webcomic/UserFriendly'': The team get a contract job in Australia. When they arrive, they're warned by a local to be careful of the gum trees out the back of the office building -- "With gum trees come drop bears, mate. The most foul, cruel marsupial you've ever set eyes on." Meanwhile, Stef is walking up to the building past a gum tree with a drop bear in it, [[spoiler:and it drops on him. Apparently, the local bears have a thing about eating brains, so this one is [[YourBrainWontBeMuchOfAMeal very disappointed]].]]

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' has the Yowie Yahoo prominantly featured in ''Legend of the Vampire''.

* ''The TabletopGame/DiscworldRoleplayingGame'', acknowledging the appearance of drop bears in ''Literature/TheLastContinent'' (see above), includes game details for the species and their attack.

* In ''Discworld/TheLastContinent'', the protagonist (a visiting foreigner) has a run-in with a flock of drop bears, but when he tells people about it nobody believes him because they all know for a fact drop bears are a myth invented to mess with visiting foreigners.

* The '''Yowie''' is supposedly a large, humanoid creature covered in dark brown or black fur, sometimes said to have huge fangs and a pungent scent. [[StealthPun They also have a lot of fangirls]]. The first reports of the creature come from Aboriginal folklore, although there have been several alleged sightings over the past few decades. See also: BigfootSasquatchAndYeti. [[note]]Not to be confused with YaoiGenre.[[/note]]

* The bunyip was featured repeatedly on ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', most notably the episode "Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun".