Drop Bear

Weight: 750 - 800 lbs

Height: 6'0" - 6'5"

Length: 20-23 ft (including tail)

Social Unit: Individual

Native to: Atlantea (Naturalized on Ryu 108)

Habitat: Most of Yiri on Atlantea, parts of Webwood on Ryu 108

The drop bear is essentially a gigantic carnivorous wombat native to the mountains of the Yiri Archipelago on Atlantea. These creatures are quite dangerous, being built like lions almost double the size of large grizzly bears. Referred to as "drop bears" by the tribes of Yiri, these beasts use their long, hook-like claws to anchor themselves facing down almost vertically to eucalyptus trees, redwood trees, or cliff faces, where they lie patiently in wait for a kangaroo, diprotodon (known locally as bunyips), or some other prey creature to walk by below. Once the creature is in range of the drop bear, the drop bear will swoop down from the cliff of tree and ambush its prey, biting its neck with its engorged incisors as soon as possible for an easy kill. Due to their unique skull shape, drop bears have one of the strongest bite forces of any mammal in the entire galaxy, surpassing even lions.

Not only are drop bears one of the most adept ambush predators in the entire galaxy, but they can also run at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour (though they cannot sustain such speeds for very long). The fact that drop bears are also strong swimmers and even at times have a love for water almost proves in and of itself that this animal is not a member of the cat family as many people in the galaxy erroneously believe. Although it physically resembles a cat, this beast is indeed a marsupial, having much more in common genetically with wombats, koalas, kangaroos, and even opossums than cats.

As they are not cats and in fact are close relatives of the wombat, drop bears have a very unique set of teeth for a predator. Instead of enlarged canine "fangs" common in members of the cat and dog families, they have enlarged and overlapping chisel-like incisors, similar to those of a beaver or rat. Instead of possessing numerous serrated molars like the aforementioned cats and dogs, drop bears instead fuse these teeth into four (one on each side of each jaw) overlapping axe-like blades.

In addition, drop bears possess very unique limbs when compared to members of the cat and dog families as well as even other marsupials. Their shoulder blades are extremely robust and structured in a way that allows them to deal powerful swipes at prey animals, and most uniquely, they have opposable thumbs with extremely enlarged claws, which they use for both climbing surfaces and jabbing into prey to grip them during a pounce. Like those of a lion, all of their claws are retractable.

Every two years, female drop bears can breed and produce a single joey (which is often mistakenly referred to as a cub by the same people who think drop bears are cats). Drop bear joeys are usually born after about 50 days, but are tiny, weak, and helpless and must remain in the pouch for at least another 8 months. Upon leaving the pouch, drop bear joeys usually weigh around 200 lbs. After around another year, the joeys are usually off of milk and are eating meat. Drop bears have an average lifespan of 35 years.

As their hunting habits would hint, drop bears are adept climbers, beaten out only by the megalania in climbing ability. Their engorged front claws are used to grapple onto surfaces such as trees and cliff faces, allowing them to climb vertical surfaces with ease. This allows these beasts to hide in trees, especially eucalyptus and redwoods, and pounce on unsuspecting prey.

In the regions it inhabits, the drop bear enjoys the status of apex predator, as the only predator really powerful enough to challenge it is the megalania, and the megalania's range rarely overlaps with that of the drop bear, with the megalania preferring hotter, flatter areas and the drop bear preferring alpine eucalyptus and redwood forest. Drop bears know they have this status, and as a result they can often be seen scaring weaker carnivores such as dingo packs or quinkana from their kills and enjoying the spoils.

There are 5 known subspecies of drop bear, which can be divided into two groups: the lowland drop bears (the plains drop bear and the rock drop bear), which feature short fur, a more tigerlike build, and bulbous snouts; and the highland drop bears (the mendigo drop bear, the great drop bear, and the snow drop bear), which have the lionlike build typically associated with the drop bear, have more compact, less bulbous snouts, and have larger ears and longer fur. The most numerous subspecies, the plains drop bear, is found on the flat eucalyptus savannas of Yiri, where their striped fur allows them to blend in with the tall grass and eucalyptus bark. The rock drop bear, found in the canyons and on the mesas of the vast Mullaring Desert, is the smallest subspecies. Rock drop bears are still very capable hunters, however, often grappling onto cliff faces or canyon walls and pouncing on herds of migrating bunyips or mihirungs as they traverse the area. The fur of rock drop bears usually ranges from yellow to reddish brown to help them blend in with the sand and sandstone rock formations of their desert home. The second most numerous subspecies is the mendigo drop bear, generally found in the high and dry eucalyptus forests of the Mullaring Plateau, and the lower elevations of the redwood forests. Like the plains drop bear, the mendigo is covered in stripes to help camouflage it in its forest habitat. However, the mendigo has by far the largest number of color morphs of any of the subspecies, ranging in color from black to beige. Mendigos are the ones most sentients think of when they hear the word "drop bear", and are the subspecies most often taken to Aurea for animal games, as well as being the ancestor of all feral populations on Ryu 108. The great drop bear overall looks very similar to the mendigo and comes in almost an equal variety of color morphs, but is missing the mendigo's striped pattern, instead having a plainer appearance. The great drop bear lives exclusively in high-altitude redwood forests, not needing much camouflage due to their hunting strategy of climbing hundreds of feet up the trunks of redwood trees and pouncing on unlucky creatures that walk beneath. Gunmonga's pet Coulbabunar is of this subspecies. The final subspecies, the snow drop bear, is by far the rarest, exclusive to the redwood forests above the snow line and the snowy, rocky wastes of the highest parts of the Coorabar Alps. This is the largest subspecies, and sports a white-and-silver-striped coat to camouflage it in the deep snow. Sarah's pet Alinta is of this subspecies.

Although normally predatory and extremely dangerous creatures, drop bears can sometimes be tamed and trained if taken as young joeys, especially pouch-bound newborns, which are only around the size of a peanut. While doing this today is highly illegal, it was done successfully in the past on a few occasions, most notably by Gunmonga, whose pet drop bear Coulbabunar is one of the most famous animals in galactic history and is featured on the Atlantean Flag, and more recently by Sarah, whose pet drop bear Alinta is known for its prominent role as a service animal on the GTU side of the Tatian War.

During the Galactic Viking Age, King Thursson Icehammer of Ryu 108, who had conquered Atlantea, imported some drop bears to Ryu 108 for a zoo he was building in the city of Bjørnholm. However, a few of them escaped into the surrounding forest known as Webwood. Webwood proved to be a perfect habitat for drop bears, with abundant unsuspecting prey and truly massive trees to climb. Before long, a wild population of drop bears had established itself in the Webwood permanently. Now, travel through the Webwood is almost always done in groups because of the high risk of a drop bear swooping down from a tall redwood tree and mauling a lone traveler to death. While not found wild there, drop bear are often captured and brought to Aurea, where they are by far the most commonly used animal in their galaxy-famous gladiatorial games, venatio (wild animal hunts), and damnatio ad bestiae (execution by wild beasts).

Although the species had been able to survive relatively undisturbed through most of the Tatian War, the extremely rapid galaxy-wide industrialization that started in the war's later stages and continues into the present day has put the species into much more contact with sentients. Habitat destruction resulting from an increased demand for farmland, as well as retaliatory poaching after attacks on sentients and their livestock has caused a significant drop in population as of late, and as a result the Atlantean Government has recently passed laws to protect the species. On Ryu 108, however, the species remains essentially unprotected, and logging of the Webwood is continuing to drive the population down. However, the portion of the Webwood that the GTU has made into a national park is considered mostly safe for the species.