Drops from trees onto passersby

Drop Bear

It lurks in trees and drops onto unsuspecting passersby, its aggression a terrifying divergence from its docile relatives.

Yara-ma-yha-who

accounts describe it lying in wait in the branches of native fig trees, dropping down onto travelers who pause to rest or shelter beneath them

Oschaert

Its method is consistent across the accounts: it appears to someone travelling after dark, usually as an animal with glowing or fiery eyes, and fastens itself onto the traveller's back or shoulders.