What is the bunyip?
The bunyip is a water monster in the folklore of Australia’s Aboriginal peoples. It has been feared as lurking in swamps, rivers, waterholes and lakes, letting out terrifying cries at night and attacking and eating people and animals that come near the water.
A bunyip of many shapes
The bunyip’s appearance varies by region and storyteller: a dog-like face with a seal-like body, a crocodile-like head, or a shaggy body with tusks, among many others. When European settlers arrived in the 19th century, stories of bunyip sightings and of bunyip bones being found spread among them too.
What is the bunyip really?
Theories include seals that swam up rivers and the night calls of birds (relatives of the bittern) mistaken for a monster. Another theory suggests that people who found fossils of large marsupials that once lived in Australia, such as Diprotodon, passed down memories that became the legend. It is also thought to have been a story to keep children away from dangerous water.
