Rancor

Rancors were large semi-sentient reptilian carnivores native to the planet Dathomir. Standing around five meters tall, with their long arms, immense jaws, and armored hides that could withstand blaster fire, they were formidable predators. A subspecies known as the jungle rancor populated the planets Felucia and Teth.

A rancor, named Pateesa, was kept as a pet by Jabba the Hutt in a pit below his palace court, to which he fed any who displeased him. The beast was killed by Luke Skywalker, after which its human handler could be seen mourning its death.

Behind the scenes
The concept for the rancor in Return of the Jedi was described by its creators as "a cross between a bear and a potato." It was first to be played by an actor in a suit, but no one was satisfied with the results. The rancor was then made as a rod-operated puppet, filmed with a high-speed camera to slow its movements down to give the illusion of a much larger creature.

A combination of matte painting, cartoon rotoscoping, and CG elements were added around the creation to make it look bigger and more menacing. Some of these changes were later omitted or replaced with CG effects in the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy.

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens