Drop Bears - The Facts
The notorious ‘Drop Bear’ (Thylarctos plummetus) is now firmly entrenched in to Aussie folklore as a large, arboreal, predatory marsupial related to the Koala that 'drops' on its prey. Very few people, until now, know the real story and it is just as strange the legend.
Key Points
Mutant Gene
Gestation period – 18 weeks (3 times that of a normal Koala)
Research – Australian Museum, Ethiopian Dept of Science
The conspiracy and cover up – The Institute of Australian and Ethiopian Koala Protection IAEKP (Koala Institute or ‘KI’)
The cull (Ethiopia) and control (Australia)
Ultra Sound of a mutant “Drop Bear’ Koala
It’s in the Genes and Gestation
The Drop Bear is a mutant of the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) The term (Thylarctos plummetus) is just as fake as some of the legends of the ‘Drop Bear’. Researchers are now in agreement that the genetic mutation is a subspecies of the Koala and should be identified as Phascolarctos cinereus plummetus. The mutant gene was first identified in the small but scattered colonies of the koala in the Ethiopian Deserts. The only recorded koalas outside of Australia. The gene causes the baby koala or ‘Joey’ to gestate for up to 18 weeks allowing the joey to fully form inside the mother’s or ‘Doe’s’ womb. Birth generally results in the death of the doe which are mostly attributed by Govt. officials as ‘dog kill’.
The mutant animals grow to around 40 kg some 4 time that of a normal Koala with large canine teeth and extended claws. Make no mistake these animals can and will kill. They are unable to harvest enough sustenance from the Eucalypt. The carnivorous diet also means they are not ‘high’ on Eucalypt Oil. (The reason most normal Koalas are so docile).
After sightings of the mutant animals in in the 1960s in Ethiopia the Ethiopian Dept of Science under took research showing the mutant gene was now present in 1 in 10 Koala in their country a stark contrast from the 1 in 1,000 mutants in Australia. Ethiopia turned to Australia for help. An intergovernmental committee was established. The Institute of Australian and Ethiopian Koala Protection IAEKP (Koala Institute or ‘KI’).
KI has far reaching powers and made many ad hoc and secretive decisions particularly in the early days. These included
Destruction of all public evidence of the Drop Bear. To protect Australian tourism.
A cull of all Koalas in Ethiopia to stop the carnage to native animals.
A 10% increase in ‘aid’ from Australia to Ethiopia which was to be directly syphoned off to fund the cull.
A nationwide ultra sound of Australian Koalas to identify mutants in the womb that would result in the termination of both doe and joey. The Koala was determined to be too important to Australian Tourism to cull, but the mutants were determined to be too detrimental to tourism to be allowed to survive.
Recent Encounters
The Ethiopian cull has been largely successful with the koala now being technically extinct in the African Nation and no official or unofficial sighting of normal or mutant animals in over a decade.
The Australian terminations struggled with logistical issues and was phased out during the Whitlam era (1970’s). The occurrence of the mutant animals has dropped to one 10,000 and attacks are also dropping in number. The KI now concentrates on debunking sightings and attacks as folklore or myth to protect our lucrative backpacker market. It still drains enormous financial resources from the Australia budget each year with funds being diverted from the CSIRO and contributions to the Australian Museum.
It has been said that the mutant koalas in Australia target people with foreign accents, due to the high proportion of Northern European and Scandinavian backpackers that are attacked. The KI however attributes this to the naivety of these travellers rather than their accent.
Related links
Coverup
https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/mammals/drop-bear/
Dick Smith.
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2013/04/drop-bears-target-tourists-study-says/
