There are some wonderful animals that are included in Star Wars, and though some of them are merely beautiful or super-cute, some of them play a vital part in the saga. To be clear, these are non-sentient beings, not aliens that simply look like animals (the Ewoks, for example).

• Lothwolves and lothcats. I put these two together, because they’re both from Lothal in Rebels. The lothcats are cheeky little creatures, and Ezra, who is from Lothal, has a kind of connection with them through the Force. He’s sort of like Obi-Wan, who also shares a connection with animals. The lothcats helped out our Rebel friends on a few occasions through Ezra. And the lothwolves are my absolute favorite–they’re strikingly beautiful, but more importantly, they seem to be connected to the Force themselves, being able to travel long distances in a short amount of time, utilizing a kind of Force-powered hyperspace (like the Pergil, which I just remembered and want to include here) . And of course, the main Lothwolf who calls himself Dume harbors the spirit of Kanan (that’s what we’re led to believe, anyway). The lothwolves may not even qualify for this list as they’re arguably sentient creatures (along with the Pergil).

• Vulptices (crystal foxes). I loved these tinkling, crystalline foxes from The Last Jedi. Not only are they beautiful, but they helped (perhaps unknowingly) what was left of the Resistance escape the cave on Crait. When danger threatens, do what the natives do: run and find a back door!

• Porgs. Let’s face it, these guys are just adorable.

• Boga the veractyl. This is the beastie that Obi-Wan rode on Utapau when he was looking for, and pursuing, Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. The novelization of the movie gives more insight into the communication between Boga and Obi-Wan; we find out Boga is a female, and that she trusts Obi-Wan implicitly. And I bet you can hear her trilling call in your mind right now.

• The Vexis Snake. This is the injured snake-thing that Rey healed on Passana in The Rise of Skywalker. Normally I would put this under the category of “monster” because, hello, giant snake. But this one is simply hurting, and gives Rey an opportunity to show us her Force-healing skills. Once he’s all better, he just slinks away. And it shows Rey’s compassion for all creatures. When Poe was ready to shoot it because it scared him, Rey felt its pain and healed it.

Honorable mentions

• Beasts of burden–tauntaun, eopies, dewbacks, bantha, fathiers, blurggs, etc. Let’s give a shout-out to these creatures that haul our characters’ gear, as well as their butts, over long distances in often extreme environments.
• The mudhorn in The Mandalorian. This beastie eventually became the sigil of Din Djarrin, in The Mandalorian. I kind of felt bad for her, because she was only trying to protect her egg. The mom in me cries out, lol.
• Ahsoka’s owl. I believe it’s called a covoree, and this bird appears with Ahsoka in Rebels on several occasions. It’s Ahsoka’s spirit animal and guide, or morai, and some believe it is representative of The Daughter, from the Mortis arc in Clone Wars, because of its similar coloring. The Daughter represented the Light Side of the Force. The covoree most notably showed up when Ezra pulled Ahsoka into the World Between Worlds, and acted as a guide.

There are others that would probably qualify as animals, but I put them under the “monster” category, because they instill fear in us: wampa, sarlaccs, giant spiders, rancors, krayt dragons, that sort of thing. Maybe I’m being unfair–but at least I included the vexis on my list, right? “Favorite Monsters” might be a good post for next time.

There are also tons of animals that are described in Star Wars books, but they’re too numerous to count here, so I’ve just included those in the films and shows.

What’s your favorite Star Wars animal? Did I miss anything obvious? Let me know in the comments!

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