Womp rat/Legends

"Just like shootin' womp rats, eh kid?"

- Unknown Rebel soldier

The womp rat was a large, omnivorous rodent native to Tatooine. It was widely considered to be a pest. They were slightly larger than two meters in size. There were three races of womp rats: ones that lived in Beggar's Canyon, ones that lived in the Jundland Wastes, and swamp womp rats. It was not unheard of for people to have domesticated womp rats as pets, but Luke Skywalker and his friends used to "bulls-eye" womp rats with stun blasts, while flying T-16 skyhoppers, for fun and target practice.



Biology and appearance
While womp rats were opportunists and fond of carrion and refuse, they were also predators though most of their prey items were old, sick, or generally weak. Their normal prey included small animals, such as profoggs. Womp rats traveled in packs to overwhelm larger prey items, such as Dewbacks and Banthas. These packs consisted of up to 20 individuals. When they bite, their teeth set in and the animals will not release their hold, even if they are killed; Owen Lars had seen a bantha with a desiccated womp rat skull still biting down on it.

The Beggar's Canyon womp rat reproduce at an alarming rate. Once it reproduced to such a point that the population could not be kept in check, and womp rats were hunting Jawas and raiding storehouses. The Imperial prefect of Tatooine and the Affiliated Moisture Farmers then passed a bounty ordinance of ten credits per rat. Luke Skywalker and his friend Biggs Darklighter got enough womp rats to upgrade their T-16 skyhoppers and have enough money for the Academy.

The Jundland Waste womp rat appeared shortly after Imperials arrived on Tatooine, and some have speculated it was a mutated form of the Beggar's Canyon womp rat, affected by chemicals from Imperial waste dumps. Some of it's mutations include a larger size, slower reproduction rate, and lower numbers than Beggar's Canyon womp rat. Their ears are also elongated and winglike.

Another variety, the swamp womp rat, was found on a few fringe worlds as well as on Cularin.

Some womp rats on Tatooine were prone to Gray Rot.

Non-canon appearances

 * A Death Star Is Born
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Nerf Herder

Notes and references
Womp-Ratten