Aiwha/Legends

Aiwha were flying cetacean creatures that lived on the planets Kamino and Naboo. They could use their wing-fins to either propel themselves through water or to soar through the skies. Kaminoans were derogatorily referred to as "aiwha-bait".

Characteristics
"We've got to stop meeting like this, my friend."

- Obi Wan Kenobi to an aiwha after falling on it for a second time.

Majestic cetaceans that could take to the air, aiwhas could be found in the churning oceans of the planet Kamino, where they had been domesticated as mounts by the native Kaminoans. The creatures were strong swimmers, able to launch themselves from the cresting waves and then continue their momentum in flight.

Aiwhas and similar creatures could be found on several worlds, including the planet Naboo. There, they lived in medium-size "pods," feeding on surface-dwelling krill and the fish found in the huge Naboo lakes. Like other cetaceans, aiwhas filtered food through the sieve-plates in their baleen. The Gungans of Naboo had domesticated aiwhas to accept mounts and provide airborne transportation. Gungans also used the aiwhas as war mounts, using them as reconnaissance and bombers. Aiwhas employed a water-vascular system that allowed them to control their relative density. When they needed to swim underwater, their spongy tissues absorbed water. When flight was required, they expelled this water and shed it to lighten themselves.

While some believed the aiwhas on Kamino to have been imported from Naboo, others speculated that this particular breed was entirely the result of cloning technology.

Behind the scenes
The word "aiwha" is a deliberate corruption of "air whale". They are also called Air Whales in the Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption game manual.

The aiwhas have existed, in one form or another, for over thirty years, but they've only recently been incorporated into a Star Wars movie. Concept illustrator Ralph McQuarrie drew flying whales to populate Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back, but they were a casualty of budget and effects limitations. They resurfaced as transports in Return of the Jedi, but were ultimately replaced with the more practical sail barge and skiffs. For The Phantom Menace, the aiwhas returned as Gungan mounts, but were again dropped from the finished film. For Attack of the Clones, they were also to be possible mounts for the Geonosians before finally finding a home on Kamino.

The aiwha bears a striking similarity to the thrantas of Alderaan, and the Neebrays of Rugosa and the Balmorra Run, but the three species share no known in-universe relation, or at least none that have been proven.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Republic 50: The Defense of Kamino
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Republic Commando: True Colors
 * Republic HoloNet News Core Edition 14:9:01
 * Imperial Commando: 501st
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Bloodlines
 * Star Wars: Invasion 1: Refugees, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Bloodlines
 * Star Wars: Invasion 1: Refugees, Part 1