Spamel

"We're the cavalry. The&hellip; strange, whatever-these-are-called riding cavalry. We're rebels. We're looking for the Partisans who worked with Saw Gerrera."

- Leia Organa, riding one of the beasts

During the Galactic Empire's occupation of the holy moon of Jedha, Imperial sandtroopers used blue-skinned, long-legged beasts as mounts to traverse the moon's cold desert landscape and to patrol pilgrimage routes to Jedha City. After the destruction of Jedha City by the Death Star's superlaser, the beasts were also used by the surviving members of Saw Gerrera's rebel Partisans as well as Rebel Alliance members Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker while they were on a mission to locate and help the survivors on Jedha.

Biology and appearance
The creatures were a blue-skinned, quadrupedal species that possessed a pair of gray eyes, a long neck, and a small tail. With their four long, slender legs, they stood up to 4.9 meters, or sixteen feet, high. The beasts that dwelled on Jedha after the destruction of Jedha City had breath masks strapped to their faces due to the harsh conditions on the moon.

History
"Hey, hero! Come aboard!"

- Leia Organa, to Luke Skywalker, after his mount was shot down

The long-legged beasts served as riding mounts for Imperial sandtroopers on the desert moon of Jedha during its occupation by the Galactic Empire prior to the Battle of Yavin. Riding these creatures, Imperial troopers traversed the chilly sands of Jedha, patrolling pilgrimage routes to Jedha City, and watching for smugglers and Saw Gerrera's rebel Partisans. The troopers who rode the mounts also wielded pikes. In the year 0 BBY, the Empire destroyed Jedha City in an effort to test the superlaser of the Death Star battle station. The city's destruction devastated the entire moon and dealt a major blow to the Partisans.

Sometime after the Battle of Yavin, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance rode two of the beasts while leading a team on a mission to Jedha in an attempt to make contact with the surviving members of the Partisans. Shortly after the pair rescued two Partisans named Ubin Des and Chulco Gi, an Imperial patrol transport shot down Skywalker's mount. All four rebels were then forced to get on the same mount, eventually escaping the Imperials with the help of the starship Millennium Falcon. The beasts were also utilized by the Partisans, who, along with their new allies from the Rebel Alliance, rode them during their attack on an Imperial drill citadel that was mining for kyber crystals on Jedha.

Behind the scenes
"One of the first shots featured a stormtrooper sitting on a camel, and I thought to myself: 'Wow, I'm in Star Wars!'"

- Felicity Jones

The Jedha riding beast was created and developed for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the 2016 film that marks the first entry in the Star Wars Anthology Series. Prior to the film's release, the mount was first depicted in the reference book Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, which included a map of Jedha in connection to the then-upcoming Rogue One. The book was illustrated by Tim McDonagh and published on November 3, 2016.

Inspiration for Rogue One Holy City of Jedha was drawn from real-life holy cities like Mecca and Jerusalem, as well as other, mostly desert locations in the Middle East and North Africa. Thus, the long-legged mounts were inspired by camels that inhabit those lands. Concept artist Christian Alzmann's illustration of the creature featured in The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was titled "Jedha Camel." Rogue One director Gareth Edwards also called the creatures "space camels."

During the filming of Rogue One on July 23–24, 2015, in Jordan, stormtroopers were filmed riding camels between Jedha City and the lookout rock where Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso, and K-2SO stand in the film. The camels were to be digitally replaced with a creature design by Christian Alzmann, but the shots were ultimately cut. However, the creatures can still be seen in some scenes within Jedha City, which were completely digitally generated.

Appearances

 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Star Wars 38: The Ashes of Jedha, Part I
 * Star Wars 39: The Ashes of Jedha, Part II
 * Star Wars 40: The Ashes of Jedha, Part III
 * Star Wars 41: The Ashes of Jedha, Part IV