Re: [Epic] Disadvantages of Oz

From: Doug Veal <dougv_at_...>
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 19:03:53 +1000

At 19:57 23/03/98 +1000, you wrote:
>They are rare, shy and retiring creatures, and only found in virgin
>bushland. Unfortunately, military reserves are ideal habitats for them.
>Foreign troops on exercises have to be warned NOT to camp below a tree
>at dusk, as green uniforms in particular confuse the Drop Bear's vision,
>and often lead to an attack. Australians are taught about Drop Bears at
>an early age, and few have ever been attacked since 1900.

*sigh* that was the problem... the Australian Army changed it's uniform
about five years ago to a very tan-looking camo pattern. While it fits the
Australian terrain, it has the added bonus of being very hard for DB's to
see. This has resulted in a much lower rate of attacks. The GI's I
mentioned were wearing the typical dark-green camo pattern uniform. They
were warned to check any tree they stayed under but didn't obviously. The
DB attacked his dark green ALICE pack and pretty much shredded it.

>The figure of 14 people eviscerated by drop bears last year is just
>plain exagerrated: several were dingo victims, and one was tormenting a
>Kangaroo when it turned on him and disembowelled him. The other two were
>tourists who didn't know any better. More people are killed in Canada by
>Grizzlies every year than are killed by Drop Bears in Australia in a
>decade.

That is way too high.. 14? That's not the official number is it? I know the
news tend to play the attacks up but it seems high..


Doug Veal

dougv_at_...
Received on Thu Mar 26 1998 - 09:03:53 UTC