Anooba

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Anoobas were aggressive pack predators native to Tatooine. Opportunistic hunters as well as scavengers, these wolflike canines would attack virtually anything smaller than themselves (such as scurriers) and would band together in packs to bring down rontos, eopies, and similar creatures.

Characteristics

Anooba with prey — Anooba with jakrab prey

Strong, horny beaks on their jaws assisted in the breaking of thick skeletons, while long, tufted tails helped to counterbalance the body and dissipate heat. Anoobas could vary in weight from 20 to 45 kilograms—males being larger than females—and often banded into packs of ten to twelve. These units were dominated by an alpha male and alpha female, and it was not uncommon to see entire packs waiting alongside podrace courses for an easy meal.^[1]

Like the winged urusai, accounts spoke of anoobas being so engorged on meals that they are unable to move. This may be due in part to the fact that anooba mothers fed their young, born three to four at a time, through regurgitation.

History

During the Clone Wars, a pack of anoobas had invaded the Womp rat cave at the Xelric Draw and caused womp rats to go wild and harrass nearby Mos Espa.^[4]

Marrok, the pet of the bounty hunter Embo

Around the same time, a pack of striped anoobas were kept at a Confederate prison on Lola Sayu by the warden Osi Sobeck, who used them to hunt and track escaped prisoners. During a mission by the Republic to rescue prisoners of war from the prison, one of these anoobas attacked and killed the Jedi Master Even Piell.^[2] The bounty hunter Embo had a pet anooba named Marrok.^[5] Biggs Darklighter, a moisture farmer on Tatooine, helped adopt an anooba after its previous master had treated it roughly.^[6]

Packs of escaped, adaptable anoobas imported from Tatooine roamed Coruscant alleys looking for prey. As a result, nocturnal foot traffic in certain areas was highly risky. Anoobas on Coruscant were known to howl at the planet's moons. Anoobas were sometimes caught in packs and used as gladiatorial fighting animals, for which they were given a shock collar to control their behavior.^[1]

Anoobas were also known to be, like the massiff, domesticated by Tatooine's Tusken Raiders as pets and guard animals.

Behind the scenes

Originally designed as concept art for a creature in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace by Terryl Whitlatch^[7] but ultimately not included in the film. They would later on be depicted in the reference book "The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide," released in 2001.^[1]

The anooba would make its on-screen appearance in "Citadel Rescue," the twentieth episode of the third season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. The episode released on March 11, 2011.^[8]