Editing Bunyip (section)

== Debate over origins ==
There have been various attempts to understand and explain the origins of the bunyip as a physical entity over the past 150 years. Writing in 1933, Charles Fenner suggested that it was likely that the "actual origin of the bunyip myth lies in the fact that from time to time seals have made their way up the Murray and Darling (Rivers)". He provided examples of seals found as far inland as [[Barmera, South Australia|Overland Corner]], [[Loxton, South Australia|Loxton]], and [[Conargo, New South Wales|Conargo]] and reminded readers that "the smooth fur, prominent 'apricot' eyes, and the bellowing cry are characteristic of the seal",{{sfn|Fenner|1933|pp = 2–6}} especially [[southern elephant seal]]s and [[leopard seal]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Resture|first=Jane|title=Bunyip Sightings - In Search of an Origin|url=http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_bunyips_mythology1/index1.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117121223/http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_bunyips_mythology1/index1.htm|archive-date=17 January 2011|website=Jane's Oceania}}</ref>

Another suggestion is that the bunyip may be a [[folk memory]] of extinct Australian [[marsupial]]s such as the ''[[Diprotodon]]'', ''[[Zygomaturus]]'', ''[[Nototherium]]'', or ''[[Palorchestes]]''. This connection was first formally made by Dr George Bennett of the Australian Museum in 1871.{{sfn|Holden|2001|p=90}} In the early 1990s, palaeontologist Pat Vickers-Rich and geologist Neil Archbold also cautiously suggested that Aboriginal legends "perhaps had stemmed from an acquaintance with prehistoric bones or even living prehistoric animals themselves&nbsp;... When confronted with the remains of some of the now extinct Australian marsupials, Aborigines would often identify them as the bunyip." They also note that "legends about the'' mihirung paringmal'' of western Victorian Aborigines&nbsp;... may allude to the&nbsp;... extinct giant birds the [[Dromornithidae]]."<ref>{{citation |editor1-first = Pat |editor1-last = Vikers-Rich |editor2-first = J.M. |editor2-last = Monaghan |editor3-first = R.F. |editor3-last = Baird |editor4-first = T.H. |editor4-last = Rich |year = 1991 |title = Vertebrate Palaeontology of Australasia |page = [https://archive.org/details/Vertebratepalae00PVic/page/2 2] |publisher = Pioneer Design Studio and Monash University |isbn = 0-909674-36-1 |url = https://archive.org/details/Vertebratepalae00PVic/page/2 }}</ref>

In a 2017 ''[[Australian Birdlife]]'' article, Karl Brandt suggested Aboriginal encounters with the [[southern cassowary]] inspired the myth.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Brandt|first1=Karl|date=June 2017|title=Bunyip Hunters|url=https://www.calameo.com/read/0041078952dea0d695ac2|journal=Australian Birdlife|volume=6|issue=2|page=10}}</ref> According to the first written description of the bunyip from 1845,<ref name = "firstuse"/> the creature laid pale blue eggs of immense size, possessed deadly claws, powerful hind legs, a brightly coloured chest, and an [[emu]]-like head, characteristics shared with the Australian cassowary.<ref name=":0" /> As the creature's bill was described as having serrated projections, each "like the bone of the [[stingray]]", this bunyip was associated with the indigenous people of [[Far North Queensland]], renowned for their spears tipped with stingray barbs and their proximity to the cassowary's Australian range.

Another association to the bunyip is the shy Australasian bittern (''[[Botaurus poiciloptilus]]'').{{sfn|Fenner|1933|p = 6}} During the breeding season, the male call of this marsh-dwelling bird is a "low pitched boom";<ref>{{citation |first1 = Ken |last1 = Simpson |first2 = Nicolas |last2 = Day |first3 = Peter |last3 = Trusler |year = 1999 |title = Field Guide to the Birds of Australia |page = 72 |publisher = Viking Books, Australia |isbn = 0-670-87918-5|title-link = Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (Simpson & Day) }}</ref> hence, it is occasionally called the "bunyip bird".<ref name = Oxford/>