Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/July 16, 2011

Ri'Dar were sentient flying primates from the forests of the planet Dar'Or. As adults, they had a wingspan of three meters and were approximately one meter long, counting their furry tails. Ri'Dar evolved from tree-climbing creatures who had evolved flaps of skin between their arms and legs in order to glide. Over time, the simple gliding flaps evolved into true wings supported by extended fingers on their hands. The energy needed for flight required Ri'Dar to consume up to half their body weight in food each day, usually in the form of insects, fruit, and fungi. Ri'Dar were agile fliers on Dar'Or and other low-gravity planets, but they could not fly in environments with heavier than one standard gravity. The Ri'Dar became known to the galaxy after their homeworld was transformed into an Imperial nature preserve, not for any of Dar'Or's native fauna, but for a predatory bird called the elix. The animal came from a high-gravity planet that was on the brink of destruction from a looming supernova. Since Dar'Or was a low-gravity planet, the elix proved even deadlier predators after their relocation. The Ri'Dar, already preyed upon by the sabretoothed indola, had only their swiftness and keen senses to protect them from the new threat.

On their homeworld, Ri'Dar lived a simple existence in their treetop warrens. Their technology consisted primarily of wooden spears, bows, and similar tools. The typical Ri'Dar was nervous and fearful by nature, since flying away from their many predators was their most effective defense. They tended to live for the present rather than the future, as they often had little confidence in their long-term survival. Such libertinism also gave them a mercurial temperament: a Ri'Dar had the capability to become very angry or very happy with little warning. During courtship, Ri'Dar engaged in mating dances. Ri'Dar were surprisingly common away from their homeworld, as they sometimes stowed away with smugglers and poachers who arrived on Dar'Or to hunt elix for their valuable meat. Ri'Dar were often found as companions of smugglers, either as pets, servants, or, rarely, full crew members.