Shaak

Shaak
Designation	Nonsentient
Planet of origin	Naboo
Height of average adult	1.8 meters
Skin color	Yellow
Distinctions	Rotund bodies, short snouts

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This article is about the animal. You may be looking for the similarly named Jedi Master, Shaak Ti.

Shaaks were plump quadrupedal herd animals native to the grasslands of Naboo. Shaaks were often raised for their meat, and had large, rotund bodies. They had relatively weak legs, however, and were barely able to keep themselves upright.

[edit] Characteristics

A shaak.

The herbivorous shaak was a wandering animal, and was found in multiple regions of the planet. However, they tended to seek out dry areas, and avoided Naboo's numerous swamps since they were commonly not fond of damp surroundings. Shaaks were, however, naturally buoyant due to their fatty bodies, though their four short legs were of little use in the water. Their inability to escape from water meant that shaaks sometimes found themselves carried over waterfalls, though fortunately their fatty bodies ensured such falls did no serious damage.

Female shaaks had multiple wombs, allowing for a remarkable reproduction rate. In fact, females were continually pregnant, and their compartmentalized uterine system allowed them to be impregnated by different males at the same time.

Another interesting fact about shaaks was that they were one of the few species that, if infected with the Blue Shadow Virus, would die instantly.

[edit] History

Peppi Bow's shaak herd falls victim to the Blue Shadow Virus.

Though prized for their meat by Naboo and Gungans alike, shaaks were seldom used as pack animals, and rarely used as mounts due to their inherent instability, though some herders, such as the Gungan Peppi Bow, rode them with ease. They were also prized for their fluff.

During the Clone Wars, Peppi Bow's herd fell victim to a leak of the waterborne Blue Shadow Virus from Nuvo Vindi's laboratory. She lost six of her shaaks to the plague and almost fell victim herself.

In 1 ABY territorial disputes between shaak wranglers led some wrangling families to hire gangsters that added banned chemicals to the feed of rival shaak herds. The intestinal blockages created by these chemicals eventually caused the shaaks to explode. The Royal Advisory Council had to hire independent agents to eliminate the gangsters.^[1]

[edit] Behind the scenes

The shaak was designed by Terryl Whitlatch as the Star Wars version of a sheep.

The shaak was the butt of many jokes among ILM digital artists during production of Attack of the Clones. The blooper reel on the DVD release includes a shot where a large, digital shaak takes the place of a core ship brought down by SPHA-T walkers. In an easter egg on the Attack of the Clones DVD, Yoda fires lightning from his palm and destroys a shaak. Shaaks also appear as "easter eggs" in several places in the film itself: floating in the Geonosis asteroid field and among flaming wreckage at the Battle of Geonosis.^[2]