History Main / YowiesAndBunyipsAndDropBearsOhMy

* The ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series features bunyips as large, [[ItCanThink disturbingly intelligent]] burrowing reptilians ([[OurDragonsAreDifferent strongly implied to have evolved from dragons]]) that lurk near bodies of water and pick off unwary travelers. Think trapdoor spiders the size of wolves. Nearby Aborigines try to convince the protagonists not to camp near a billabong, but fail to cross the language barrier, 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''...

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as sounding an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those[[note]]And indeed it does thanks to the theropod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]], which may or may not be an actual distant relative of it[[/note]]), although in truth (as much as you can be with mythical creatures) it's apparently just a large lizard monster from local Aboriginal mythology.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as sounding an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those[[note]]And indeed it does thanks to the theropod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]], which may or may not be an actual distant relative of it[[/note]]), although in truth (as much as you can be with mythical creatures) its apparently just a large lizard monster from local Aboriginal mythology.

** There is also a related species--the '''Kangawallabat''': a cross between a kangaroo, a wallaby, and a numbat. Which, if anything, is even less terrifying. Bur some of them can [[{{Flight}} fly]].

* Bunyip is allured to in mythology as a tidal wave monster in ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'' where it floods [[ItMakesSenseInContext the black bird in order for the platypus to find his sacred egg]].

* Yowies and Bunyip specifically come from [[Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths Gamilaraay]] (also spelled Kamilaroi) religion. The former is an evil hairy man from the forest (not much deeper than that), while the latter essentially meant [[OurDemonsAreDifferent dark spirit]] until colonisers derailed them into specifically water monsters. In spite of what the claims in Real Life section below say, there is not much in the way of plausible equation between these critters and extinct megafauna due to A) being fairly vague generic monsters, B) having specific symbolic reasons in Gamilaraay religion.
* Analogues to these things exist across Australian's various cultures. The Dulagal from Yuin mythology is technically analogues to the Gamilaraay Yowie, but much more well "developed": is an evil [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] eyed hairy man who lives in Mount Gulaga and walks sideways for some reason.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Bunyips are described in ''Bestiary 2'' and given further detail in ''Mystery Monsters Revisited'', a book featuring on cryptids and "hidden" animals. They're large, aggressive seal-like creatures and voracious ambush predators; they prefer to inhabit swamps, murky lakes and rivers, and sea caves, and are skilled enough at avoiding their prey's notice to remain elusive and mysterious creatures even in a HighFantasy world.

** ''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". Funnily enough, it wasn't related to other carnivorous marsupials like ''Thylacines'' or Tasmanian Devils but was actually a part of the same family of [[AscendedToCarnivorism herbivorous marsupials]] as kangaroos, wombats and yes, koalas. Due to these similarities, some speculate that it may have been the original inspiration for the drop bear myth, with the Aboriginals themselves having legends about a monster called Kadimakara (more frequently spelled kardimarkara in literature) that's description is remarkably similar (even detailing how it eventually vanished after the disappearance of the gum trees it lived in forced it to hunt on the ground, matching a common theory scientists have on the extinction of ''Thylacoleo'').

** In 2018, cultural historian Paul-Michael Donovan [[https://dcs.megaphone.fm/ADV1257255616.mp3?key=9b8505b7598db8ebfa0b283d26144de7 claimed he had tracked the bunyip down.]] The word originated among the Aboriginal tribes of the Murray River basin in what is now the state of Victoria. But of those who, at the point of colonial contact, spoke of the Bunyip at all, the Wathaurong nation around Melbourne were unique in that they described it as an actual animal, albeit a dangerous one, rather than a monster. They described it as about 5 meters in length, and able to move on land and in water. If there is one thing that unifies all stories of the Bunyip, is that it is found in billabongs, or ox-bow lakes, the slowly drying remains of meanders cut off from their river. In Australia, it is a not-infrequent event that seals travel up rivers, which, once they dry out, strand them in billabongs. The oldest confirmed [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftalesfromratcity.com%2F2018%2F02%2F25%2Fepisode-five%2F&psig=AOvVaw3l-_ko6pbO92jBdu3dd5lP&ust=1648405808380000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOiX_6a05PYCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD geoglyph of a Bunyip]], which reportedly attacked two Aboriginal children, has been speculated to be a seal since the 1950s. Unfortunately, while the Wathaurong people still exist, their language does not, having been systematically destroyed over the course of the 19th century. However, an unpublished compilation of their language, drawn from the word lists compiled by early settlers, revealed that the Wathaurong had two different words for "seal": one for most types of seal, and one for the leopard seal. Their word for the leopard seal was "bunyip." If you've never seen a leopard seal before, do not imagine a cute, doe-eyed sea-puppy. Leopard seals are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXTkOs-wg2E gigantic, voracious apex predators that can and do kill people.]] They're essentially intelligent, amphibious sharks. So. Imagine the scene: a leopard seal, already far from its usual hunting grounds, travels up the Murray during the wet season. A dry spell cuts off its path back to the ocean, leaving it trapped in a foetid, deccicating billabong. It's alone. It's starving. It's likely suffering from sunstroke and hyperthermia, and it's in a completely alien environment from its home. No surpise the first thing people recall of it would be its scream. If you've never seen a seal before, let alone a leopard seal, you would see a monster.

* ''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.

* One character in ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfDownUnderDan'' mentions trying out his animal translator on a "hairy-nosed, duck-billed kangawallafox". [[AluminumChristmasTrees One could be forgiven for assuming this is something the developers made up]], given how utterly ridiculous everything else in this game is.

->Blake frowned, thinking back on the stories she'd heard growing up. "[...] Travelers and explorers would come back to town with crazy stories about 'Bunyips', and 'Drop Ursas'".
->Ruby looked at her curiously. "What are they like?"
->Blake snorted. "Depends on how much the storyteller had been drinking."
-->-- ''Fanfic/{{Boldores and Boomsticks}}''

** In 2018, cultural historian Paul-Michael Donovan [[https://dcs.megaphone.fm/ADV1257255616.mp3?key=9b8505b7598db8ebfa0b283d26144de7 claimed he had tracked the bunyip down.]] The word originated among the Aboriginal tribes of the Murray River basin in what is now the state of Victoria. But of those who, at the point of colonial contact, spoke of the Bunyip at all, the Wathaurong nation around Melbourne were unique in that they described it as an actual animal, albeit a dangerous one, rather than a monster. They described it as about 5 metres in length, and able to move on land and in water. If there is one thing that unifies all stories of the Bunyip, is that it is found in billabongs, or ox-bow lakes, the slowly drying remains of meanders cut off from their river. In Australia, it is a not-infrequent event that seals travel up rivers, which, once they dry out, strand them in billabongs. The oldest confirmed [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftalesfromratcity.com%2F2018%2F02%2F25%2Fepisode-five%2F&psig=AOvVaw3l-_ko6pbO92jBdu3dd5lP&ust=1648405808380000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOiX_6a05PYCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD geoglyph of a Bunyip]], which reportedly attacked two Aboriginal children, has been speculated to be a seal since the 1950s. Unfortunately, while the Wathaurong people still exist, their language does not, having been systematically destroyed over the course of the 19th century. However, an unpublished compilation of their language, drawn from the word lists compiled by early settlers, revealed that the Wathaurong had two different words for "seal": one for most types of seal, and one for the leopard seal. Their word for the leopard seal was "bunyip." If you've never seen a leopard seal before, do not imagine a cute, doe-eyed sea-puppy. Leopard seals are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXTkOs-wg2E gigantic, voracious apex predators that can and do kill people.]] They're essentially intelligent, amphibious sharks. So. Imagine the scene: a leopard seal, already far from its usual hunting grounds, travels up the Murray during the wet season. A dry spell cuts off its path back to the ocean, leaving it trapped in a foetid, deccicating billabong. It's alone. It's starving. It's likely suffering from sunstroke and hyperthermia, and it's in a completely alien environment from its home. No surpise the first thing people recall of it would be its scream. If you've never seen a seal before, let alone a leopard seal, you would see a monster.

** A possible Bunyip candidate is ''Diprotodon'', a hippo-sized Ice Age wombat that often lived near sources of water. Australian aboriginals, to this day, will present ''Diprotodon'' bones, saying they came from a bunyip, describing it as a very aggressive animal. The "Shit You Didn't Know About Biology" page that discusses ''Thylacoleo carnifex'' also goes into more detail [[https://sydkab.com/2012/05/17/metatherians-part-1-of-2-extinct-megafauna/#more-66 about this.]] However this is my no means universally accepted; for instance Brandt 2017 proposes an origin in [[FeatheredFiend cassowaries]], and the 1933 incident that brought Bunyips to pop culture is thought to be [[https://sealserpents.blogspot.com/2018/11/stoquelers-bunyip.html a stranded leopard seal]]. In general, Bunyips are generic dark spirits in oral traditions, so narrowing them down to ''Diprotodon'' is not supported by anthropological evidence.

* 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 A) there you are, and B) [[KillerRabbit are indeed so]].
** There is also a related species--the '''Kangawallabat''': a cross between a kangaroo, a wallaby, and a numbat. Which, if anything, is even less terrifying.

[[folder:Comics]]
* 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.
* In an untold tale of ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'', she takes on Koala Kommander and his trained killer koalas. The Kommander acquires them through an old Australian saying that anyone who catches a falling koala is responsible for raising it, so basically he's using dropped bears.
* Bunyips appear in the ''ComicStrip/SnakeTales'' newspaper strip.

* ''WebVideo/StarWarsDownunder''. On the planet Oradongia (which seems entirely populated by Australians) the evil Darth Drongo uses "unyips" (genetically engineered bunyips) to track down [[SeriousBusiness supplies of beer]].
* ''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}}.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies, just as Wookiees strongly resemble the North American cryptid {{Bigfoot|SasquatchAndYeti}}, the Ewoks in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' are man-eating teddy bears that live in trees and ambush unsuspecting intruders, not unlike drop bears. But while some of them are seen pouncing on foes from above, they're also fond of BambooTechnology-based weapons and booby traps, which they ultimately use to take down TheEmpire in a distinctly RockBeatsLaser fashion.

* ''The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek'' is a picture book well-known in Australia about a bunyip who doesn't know what kind of creature he is, and sets out to find somebody who can tell him. (At one point he encounters a proud rationalist who tells him confidently that he doesn't exist.)
* The ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series features bunyips as large, [[ItCanThink disturbingly intelligent]] burrowing reptilians ([[OurDragonsAreDifferent strongly implied to have evolved from dragons]]) that lurk near bodies of water and pick off unwary travelers. Think trapdoor spiders the size of wolves. Nearby Aborigines try to convince the protagonists not to camp near a billabong, but fail to cross the language barrier, 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 one of the books in ''Literature/TheTomorrowSeries'', an Australian prisoner of war in a work party tells the supervising soldier to watch out for the drop bears and hoop snakes.

* ''Literature/AcesAbroad,'' the fourth Literature/WildCards book, features something identified as a bunyip.
* Literature/OlogySeries: Bunyips feature in ''Monsterology'', in the chapter on aquatic creatures, and are described as amphibious, mammalian ambush predators native to Australia.

* When Tucker starts his RoaringRampageOfRevenge in ''Series/Danger5'''s second season, he begins by proclaiming "I've got some bunyips to hunt!" This is not only a reference to Tucker's Australian heritage (and one of his few AwesomeAussie moments), but also a reference to an Australian idiom: to hunt the bunyip is to take on an impossible task.

* TabletopGame/D20Modern features drop bears in its ''Menace Manual''.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Bunyips appear as hulking, herbivorous marsupials native to grasslands in the East and in the Western islands. They depart from their mythological origins rather starkly, with the mythical aquatic predator becoming a terrestrial grazer.
* ''The TabletopGame/DiscworldRoleplayingGame'', acknowledging the appearance of drop bears in ''Literature/TheLastContinent'' (see above), includes game details for the species and their attack.

* ''VideoGame/TyTheTasmanianTiger'' features bunyips. There's also drop bears in the third game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has a familiar called the bunyip. Its special ability allows you to 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.

* One character in ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfDownUnderDan'' mentions trying out his animal translator on a "hairy-nosed, duck-billed kangawallafox". [[AluminumChristmasTrees One could be forgiven for assuming this is something the developers made up]], given how utterly ridiculous everything else in this game is.

* ''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 gets 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]].]]

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has a koala-like aberration who likes to attack by [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2433 dropping on people.]] The character in question is a bit of an Australia fanboy, so it's likely a deliberate nod to the drop bear legend on the character's part.
* One ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' strip mentions drop bears as being a documented threat, but none have appeared in person.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtrYO-Mog60 "Bunyip Moon"]] from ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo''.
* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' has the Yowie Yahoo prominently featured in ''Legend of the Vampire'', though the creature using that name in the movie much more resembles a classic gothic vampire than the bigfoot-like creature of Australian myth.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic:'' In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E22PPOVPonyPointOfView "PPOV (Pony Point of View)"]], the ponies accidentally summon a "three-horned bunyip" by dropping cucumber sandwiches in the water. It, in turn, accidentally capsizes their boat.
* ''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.

** The phrase comes from an early speech ridiculing plans to ''set up'' an aristocracy in Australia. The idea was that Australia's wealthy landowners at the time would become aristocrats with an unelected place in a local version of the House of Lords. Daniel Deniehy's speech was the most memorable slamming of the completely unegalitarian concept (the only noble titles adopted in Australia were knighthoods, which were not hereditary).

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

** A variation on the Drop Bear story is that normal koalas - which only eat oily eucalypts - are extremely flammable. For this reason you should never light a campfire under a gum tree. In reality koalas are no more flammable than any other mammal, but there are still very good reasons not to light a campfire under a gum tree.

* 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 Gamilaraay religion (see below)Aboriginal folklore, although there have been several alleged sightings over the past few decades. See also: BigfootSasquatchAndYeti. [[note]]Not to be confused with YaoiGenre. Even though, judging by Rule34, there is Yowie Yaoi out there somewhere.[[/note]]

* It has been speculated by some that many creatures detailed in the myths and legends of the Australian aboriginals were based on (or possibly even direct descriptions of) extinct megafauna present in Australia during the Ice Age, all of which vanished around the same time the first humans arrived in Australia and were ultimately preserved in the Aboriginals' oral traditions (which themselves are believed to be among the oldest surviving non-written forms of history in the world, dating back to the Stone Age).
** ''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". Funnily enough, it wasn't related to other carnivorous marsupials like ''Thylacines'' or Tasmanian Devils but was actually a part of the same family of [[AscendedToCarnivorism herbivorous marsupials]] as kangaroos, wombats and yes, koalas. Due to these similarities, some speculate that it may have been the original inspiration for the drop bear myth, with the Aboriginals themselves having legends about a monster called Kadimakara that's description is remarkably similar (even detailing how it eventually vanished after the disappearance of the gum trees it lived in forced it to hunt on the ground, matching a common theory scientists have on the extinction of ''Thylacoleo'').
** A possible Bunyip candidate is ''Diprotodon'', a hippo-sized Ice Age wombat that often lived near sources of water. Australian aboriginals, to this day, will present ''Diprotodon'' bones, saying they came from a bunyip, describing it as a very aggressive animal. The "Shit You Didn't Know About Biology" page that discusses ''Thylacoleo carnifex'' also goes into more detail [[https://sydkab.com/2012/05/17/metatherians-part-1-of-2-extinct-megafauna/#more-66 about this.]]

* 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. Even though, judging by Rule34, there is Yowie Yaoi out there somewhere.[[/note]]
* 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, [[SwampMonster aquatic creature that dwells in billabongs (seasonal lakes) and rivers]], preying on unsuspecting travelers. Some variants claim that it can become invisible, or take the form of a beautiful woman to lure in victims.

** In 2018, cultural historian Paul-Michael Donovan [[https://dcs.megaphone.fm/ADV1257255616.mp3?key=9b8505b7598db8ebfa0b283d26144de7 claimed he had tracked the bunyip down.]] The word originated among the Aboriginal tribes of the Murray River basin in what is now the state of Victoria. But of those who, at the point of colonial contact, spoke of the Bunyip at all, the Wathaurong nation around Melbourne were unique in that they described it as an actual animal, albeit a dangerous one, rather than a monster. They spoke of it as about 5 metres in length, and able to move on land and in water. If there is one thing that unifies all stories of the Bunyip, is that it is found in billabongs, or ox-bow lakes, the slowly drying remains of meanders cut off from their river. In Australia, it is a not-infrequent event that seals travel up rivers, which, once they dry out, strand them in billabongs. The oldest confirmed [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftalesfromratcity.com%2F2018%2F02%2F25%2Fepisode-five%2F&psig=AOvVaw3l-_ko6pbO92jBdu3dd5lP&ust=1648405808380000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOiX_6a05PYCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD geoglyph of a Bunyip]], which reportedly attacked two Aboriginal children, has been speculated to be a seal since the 1950s. Unfortunately, while the Wathaurong people still exist, their language does not, having been systematically destroyed over the course of the 19th century. However, an unpublished compilation of their language, drawn from the word lists compiled by early settlers, revealed that the Wathaurong had two different words for "seal": one for most types of seal, and one for the leopard seal. Their word for the leopard seal was "bunyip." If you've never seen a leopard seal before, do not imagine a cute, doe-eyed sea-puppy. Leopard seals are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXTkOs-wg2E gigantic, voracious apex predators that can and do kill people.]] They're essentially intelligent, amphibiious sharks. So. Imagine the scene: a leopard seal, already far from its usual hunting grounds, travels up the Murray during the wet season. A dry spell cuts off its path back to the ocean, leaving it trapped in a foetid, deccicating billabong. It's alone. It's starving. It's likely suffering from sunstroke and hyperthermia, and it's in a completely alien environment from its home. No surpise the first thing people recall of it would be its scream. If you've never seen a seal before, let alone a leopard seal, you would see a monster.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as sounding an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those[[note]]And indeed it does thanks to the theropod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]], which may or may not be an actual distant relative of it[[/note]]), 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.

** 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.

* ''Film/TheHunter'' is about a professional mercenary played by Creator/WillemDafoe tasked by a shady organisation to track the last Tasmanian Tiger -- interestingly the thylacine is an example of a extinct species that has been turned into a modern cryptid due to many alleged sightings.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The original ''Fiend Folio'' (1981) had statistics for a bunyip.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Bunyips are described in detail in ''Mystery Monsters Revisited'', a book featuring on cryptids and "hidden" animals. They're large, aggressive seal-like creatures and voracious ambush predators; they prefer to inhabit swamps, murky lakes and rivers, and sea caves, and are skilled enough at avoiding their prey's notice to remain elusive and mysterious creatures even in a HighFantasy world.

** ''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". Funnily enough, it wasn't related to other carnivorous marsupials like ''Thylacines'' or Tasmanian Devils but was actually a part of the same family of [[AscendedToCarnivorism herbivorous marsupials]] as kangaroos, wombats and yes, koalas. Due to these similarities, some speculate that it may have been the original inspiration for the drop bear myth, with the Aboriginals themselves having legends about a monster called Kadimakara that's description is remarkably similar (and even detailing how it eventually vanished after the gum trees it lived in forced it to hunt on the ground, matching a common theory scientists have on the extinction of ''Thylacoleo'').

* ''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". Funnily enough, it wasn't related to other carnivorous marsupials like ''Thylacines'' or Tasmanian Devils but was actually a part of the same family of [[AscendedToCarnivorism herbivorous marsupials]] as kangaroos, wombats and yes, koalas. Due to these similarities, some speculate that it may have been the original inspraration for the drop bear myth.
* A possible Bunyip candidate is ''Diprotodon'', a hippo-sized Ice Age wombat that often lived near sources of water. Australian aboriginals, to this day, will present ''Diprotodon'' bones, saying they came from a bunyip. The "Shit You Didn't Know About Biology" page that discusses ''Thylacoleo carnifex'' also goes into more detail [[https://sydkab.com/2012/05/17/metatherians-part-1-of-2-extinct-megafauna/#more-66 about this.]]

* 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, [[SwampMonster 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[[note]]And indeed it does thanks to the theropod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]], which may or may not be an actual distant relative of it[[/note]]), 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 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. We never actually see it though, and even its name appearing is a bit of an easter egg.

* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has a familiar called the bunyip. Its special ability allows you to 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.

* The Australia Museum [[http://australianmuseum.net.au/Drop-Bear has a page on Drop Bears.]] Members of the museum receive free Drop Bear Immunisations!

** Mid-January 2020, a Scottish television reporter was given a koala to hold, although was told it was a drop bear, in a [[Main/BlackComedy report about the effect of the devastating bushfires on wildlife]]. The reporter was dressed in motocross chest armour, with paintball goggles, and did her best to not show fear after being told how dangerous drop bears were. She got increasingly nervous through-out the segment she was filming, and only started to panic when one of the koala handlers said that they were going to get the dart gun. The koala was taken by the handlers, and it was only when she noticed that three people were handling the animal without any protective gear that she realised she'd been pranked.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as soundng an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those[[note]]And indeed it does thanks to the theropod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]]), which may or may not be an actual distant relative of it[[/note]], 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.

* '''Burrunjor''', from Antiem Land, is often described as soundng an awful lot like a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex (Of course Australia would have one of those[[note]]And indeed it does thanks to the theropod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]], which may or may not be an actual distant relative of it[[/note]], 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.

* 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 A) there you are, and B) [[KillerRsbbit are indeed so]].