Comments

• Tim the Yowie Man's comment is disturbing since he completely ignored these animals in his otherwise comprehensive tome "Hidden, Mysterious Australia" which is currently being serialised delightfully on Radio 1RPH on Saturday afternoons. Time for a new edition, Tim!
• There are continuing reports of Drop Bears in and around the Canberra area having developed a new tactic of riding falling eucalyptus branches to the ground in order to stun and overcome unsuspecting passers-by. Past practice in the bush capital was for the then-National Capital Authority to plant eucalypts as street trees. These are now mature or over-mature and, like all eucalypts in stressed environments, they tend to shed branches unexpectedly and apparently without warning. Drop Bears have cleverly exploited this tendency and have adopted co-operative behaviour whereby the weight of two or more will cause unstable branches to drop, and the bears have developed a “surfing” technique enabling them to ride the falling branches to the ground. This gives them the double benefit of surprise and disguise. Unsuspecting walkers who thought they only had to leap to avoid branches have been horrified to find they have to contend with a marauding pack of Drop Bears emerging from the greenery as well. Significant injuries are reported to have been the result from these Bear attacks. The ACT Government has a continuing pruning program for eucalypts to try to mitigate the problem.
  There is a suggestion that, as in the case of the US Navy training dolphins for warfare, a secret SAS unit based in caves built into the new underpass outside Russell Hill Defence HQ is attempting to train Drop Bears wearing explosive belts for anti-personnel operations. The exploding Drop Bears may be tested on cyclists using the underpass (cars are too fast for the Bears to be effective). This is, of course, denied by the military and government; but they would wouldn't they?