A British TV reporter was tricked into donning full body armour to hold a koala, which she thought was a vicious animal with venomous fangs, in an on-air prank in Australia.

Debi Edward, ITV News’ Asia correspondent, has been reporting on Australia's wildfire crisis, which has destroyed natural habitats and is thought to have killed millions of animals.

During a visit to the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, Ms Edward was offered the opportunity to hold one of the country’s supposedly dangerous “drop bears” – a fake sub-species of koala known for attacking tourists.

“Drop bears are a close cousin of the koala but they’re actually really vicious so it’s sort of like a dingo and a normal domestic dog,” Sean Mulcahy, a freelance video producer, told the reporter.

Mr Mulcahy claimed the animal has longer claws than a regular koala and small fangs with a mild venom.

Animals rescued during Australia fires Show all 25 1 /25 Animals rescued during Australia fires Animals rescued during Australia fires Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide AAP Image/Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP Animals rescued during Australia fires Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires Jackie Maisey/AP Animals rescued during Australia fires Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island AFP via Getty Images Animals rescued during Australia fires Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services Animals rescued during Australia fires A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland Kim Simeon via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP Animals rescued during Australia fires WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires Simone Watts via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley AFP via Getty Images

“The third most common injury we see in tourists in Australia is actually from drop bear attacks,” he told Ms Edward.

However, the animal he gave to the reporter to hold was merely a normal koala.

Drop bears are a popular hoax in Australia, designed to scare tourists by warning them about an unusually large and vicious type of koala that attacks unsuspecting people by jumping on them from treetops.

Ms Edward was given body armour and protective goggles to hold the animal, which she told the camera was a “dangerous bear that is known to attack people”.

“Everybody looks very worried about this. I’m trying not to be worried because I’ve been told he can sense if I’m worried,” the reporter said as she nervously held the koala.

After a few moments, Ms Edward became increasingly anxious and the wildlife park staff intervened when she pleaded at them to take the animal off her.

That was when Mr Mulcahy and the crew revealed she had been pranked and the animal was just a harmless koala.

“You were kidding me! F****** Aussies,” Ms Edward replied as the camera crew burst out laughing.

The reporter later appeared on Channel Nine’s Today show to explain how she was fooled by the prank.

“There were several points looking back, obviously, where I thought ‘that’s maybe not quite right’ but these guys were like ‘you should really try this, it’s one thing we only do for our special visitors,’” Ms Edward said.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that I knew nothing about drop bears,” she added, when the Today hosts asked if she knew that the “drop bear” is a well-known hoax in Australia.

The ITV reporter has been covering the damage caused by wildfires in the country, which are thought to have killed more than half of the koalas on Kangaroo Island.

Sussan Ley, Australia’s environment minister, has warned that the koala population has taken an “extraordinary hit” from the fires and could be listed as “endangered” due to the devastation.

Mr Mulcahy has praised Ms Edward’s reporting and said that anyone who enjoyed the prank should donate to the park to help treat koalas hurt by the fires.

"For us, it was a case of, it's just been a miserable couple of weeks, and then we got this laugh. I'm glad I shared it because so many people have got joy out of it," he told ABC News.

"I've just been with a family who lost their home on Kangaroo Island, I sat down with them and they all watched the video and were just crying with laughter.​"