Pateesa

"Oh no! The rancor!"

- C-3PO

Pateesa was a rancor owned by the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure after his majordomo Bib Fortuna gave it to him as a birthday gift. The Hutt kept the pet in his palace on the desert planet Tatooine where it was cared for by the human keeper Malakili. Jabba often fed his enemies or those who upset him to the beast. When the Twi'lek dancer Oola displeased the Hutt during the Galactic Civil War, he dropped her into the pit below his throne room where he kept Pateesa and the rancor devoured her. Shortly after the dancer's death, the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker arrived at the palace with the intent of rescuing his friend Han Solo who Jabba held captive; however, after Skywalker failed to negotiate Solo's release and threatened Jabba he was dropped into the pit along with an unlucky Gamorrean guard. Pateesa quickly ate the guard, but was then killed by Skywalker, who managed to lower a dividing door within the pit down onto the rancor's head. Pateesa's death greatly upset Jabba, who demanded Skywalker and his companions be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon, but died above the pit when the Jedi escaped. Malakili was even more impacted by the rancor's death, feeling that he had failed her and no longer had purpose in life.

Appearances

 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Aftermath: Life Debt