David: Rancor Spotting #15

Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary by David West Reynolds, pages 60-61

The Visual Dictionary is a useful guide to Star Wars characters and creatures in the original trilogy. Of course, it includes information about rancors as well as an excellent photo. Here is what we learn.

Standing five meters tall, this fearsome carnivore possesses an armored skin and colossal strength. Jabba keeps this beast in a pit beneath one of his palace courts, feeding it a live diet of unfortunate victims and watching its attacks for amusement. Jabba keeps the origin of his bizarre, freakish pet a mystery, though there are little-known legends of rancor-like monsters on the remote planet of Dathomir.

We are also shown a picture of the rancor’s handler.

The animal handler Malakill became an outlaw when some of his circus beasts escaped during a show and killed much of the audience. Jabba then hired him as keeper of the murderous rancor, which Malakill has grown fond of.

I am still looking in the Star Wars lexicon for an actual reference to the reading habits of rancors. It must be in there somewhere.