Sarlacc/Legends

"In his belly you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested ... over a thousand years"

- C-3PO

The sarlacc was a long-lived, omnivorous beast found on several planets. Having long admired the patience of the sarlacc, the Jedi Order named a form of lightsaber combat, Shii-Cho, after the beast.

Lifespan
The lifespan of a sarlacc has been estimated to measure 20,000 years or more. Younger members of the species could move under the sands rapidly, while older ones remained immobile. Females generally grew much larger than males. The largest known specimen of the species resided in the Great Pit of Carkoon beneath the sands of the Dune Sea on the planet Tatooine, although most sarlacc's prefered damp environments. Xenobiologists were unsure as to whether the sarlacc was animal or plant, as it possessed characteristics of both kingdoms.

Digestive system
Only the sarlacc's gaping maw could be seen from the surface. It lay in wait for any living creature to stumble into its maw, or pulled nearby victims in with one of many tentacles. At the center of the fearsome pit was the beast's beaked, snake-like tongue which doubled as a mouth. After being swallowed by the tongue, the victim made their way into the sarlacc's belly to be digested, purportedly being slowly digested for a millennium. Some sustanence was provided by the Sarlacc's blood to keep its victims alive while they were digested in agony.

Mating and spawning
A Tusken Raider legend told of how the sarlacc gave birth to itself in Tatooine's core in the days before the twin suns split apart from a single star. According to this legend, it would continue to eat everything it came in contact with until eventually it was forced to consume itself. Though this was not a true account of the sarlacc's origin, the Tusken's themselves refused to accept any other explanation.

When a male sarlacc made contact with a female, the male attached itself to her becoming a parasite. They then reproduced by creating spores, which could leave the atmosphere and travel long distances through the Galaxy to other planets. Because of this fantastic ability to propogate, species' point of origin was never accurately determined. Once the spore settled down, it attached itself to an organism and sucked blood from it to feed itself.



As the sarlacc "baby" grew into a larva, it would eventually challenge larger creatures. If the other creature happened to eat the sarlacc larva, it would be killed and eaten from the inside by the larva. After finishing its meal, the larva would dig itself into a pit and grow into a full sized sarlacc.

Semi-sentience
Jabba the Hutt sentenced Luke Skywalker and his companions to "death by sarlacc" in 4 ABY. Prior to his execution, however, Skywalker was able to retrieve his lightsaber from the astromech droid R2-D2 and free his companions. In addition to numerous other casualties during the ensuing battle, Han Solo obliviously knocked notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett into the pit with a force pike. Originally presumed dead, Fett remained alive, using his jetpack some while later and becoming the first of only two beings ever known to escape from a sarlacc's belly alive(the other being Zorba Desilijic Tiure); despite the beast's reputation, it was not surprising considering Fett's amazing tenacity and sheer will to live.

While studying a holographic recording recovered from Fett's helmet camera, Senior Anthropologist Mammon Hoole discovered an unsettling revelation: the monster apparently possessed the ability to telepathically torture its prey. In this recording, Fett appeared to be reacting to stimuli that didn't exist, suggesting that the sarlacc are capable not only of communication, but apparently of being malevolent, feeding off of the fears of its prisoners. This led Hoole to classify the sarlacc as a semi-sentient creature. It was also believed that the consciousnesses' of the sarlacc's victims join to create a huge network of consciousnesses. The victims were able to communicate with one another through this network.

Behind the scenes
There are several different depictions of the sarlacc's body that contradict one another. The Wildlife of Star Wars, for example, includes a sketch of a very plant-like sarlacc. It has root-like limbs to anchor itself and collect water. It also has many chambers to store and digest food. Most other depictions are of a worm-like creature.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Star Wars: The New Droid Army
 * Star Wars Republic 59: Enemy Lines
 * The Cestus Deception
 * Ghost
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Empire at War
 * Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc
 * Tales From Jabba's Palace
 * The Mandalorian Armor
 * Super Star Wars
 * Star Wars: Demolition
 * Shadows of the Empire video game
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Super Return of the Jedi
 * The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * Star Wars Legacy: Broken