Journalist Gets Fooled By Australian Drop Bear Prank While Covering Kangaroo Island Bushfires

Jan 21, 2020

Australians can be very resilient people; they are often known to laugh in the face of adversity, and they have managed to do so even in the midst of one of the worst catastrophes ever witnessed Down Under. As you more than likely know, Australia has been dealing with its worst wildfire season in history; millions of acres of land have been lost, 29 people have died, more than 2,200 homes have been destroyed, and about a billion animals have died according to the NY Times. In spite of all this, Aussies still find time to make light of their predicaments as can be seen on a prank video that started going viral in early 2020.

The video in question features a practical joke pulled on a Scottish journalist working for ITV News. Debi Edwards traveled to Australia to file a report on a koala rescue center where she was told about the fearsome "drop bears," an Aussie folk tale of a rare breed of koalas that are not only carnivorous but also predatory and extremely dangerous. Edwards was tricked into wearing a ridiculous outfit that made her look like a medieval knight: she was given a motocross armor, goggles, and even heavy-duty work gloves so that she could hold a drop bear. Her camera operator was a freelance local who was in on the joke, and she made it a point of asking a military veterinarian if the center had rescued any of these drop bears. 

The look on Edwards' face as she is given a koala to hold is priceless, but what is even more hilarious is the drop-dead serious demeanor of the soldiers and volunteers who concocted this elaborate and humorous scheme. They gave Edwards inside information about drop bears so that she could add context to the story, and she filed her report with gravitas. When told about the joke, Edwards was initially afraid that her reputation as an investigative journalist would go down the drain. Think about it: Here's a respected newswoman who did not do much research on drop bears, which do not exist by the way, and the video was proof of her temporary lapse.

In the end, Edwards agreed to the video being posted on various social networks as part of an effort to get donations for the various wildlife rescue centers in Australia.

What do you make of this video? Be sure to tell us in the comments and let your friends take a look at it and consider making a small donation to this noble cause.