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Bursas were carnivorous quadrupeds native to the planet of Naboo.
Characteristics[]
Bursas were a species of non-sentient, four-legged carnivorous creatures native to Naboo. They had tusked snouts and feathery tufts of brown hair on their thick-skinned bodies, and were known to build and live in mud huts in the planet's swamps.[1] Prey included motts.
History[]

Bursas in the swamps of Naboo.
Bursas were thought to have predated even the Gungan race on Naboo. Early Gungans were attacked by the native wild bursas[2] while exploring their world. Such behavior was not uncommon in the bursas, who were known to mercilessly destroy Gungan settlements. Bursas led by the warlord Boss Rogoe destroyed Boss Gallo's village, Otoh Sancture,[3] in 3000 BBY.[4] However, Gallo's forces healed an injured bursa chief, and a clan of bursas allied with Gallo in the siege of Rogoe's Keep.[3]
The Amaran species took to capturing, breeding, and selling these creatures, which could be trained to dance on their hind legs. At an annual Coruscant Livestock Exchange and Exhibition held after the Destruction of Alderaan, bursas were displayed at the Exhibition for the first time.[1]
Behind the scenes[]

Concept art from 2000 by Robin Pronovost
Robin Pronovost originally designed the bursas for The Essential Guide to Episode I, a product that was ultimately never published, at the request of its intended author Daniel Wallace. The species was to be based on a reference Wallace found in George Lucas's notes that the Gungans had once fought against "bear-like creatures."[5]
When the Essential Guide was cut,[5] bursas instead debuted in November 2001. Their first appearance was in the video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds,[6] and they were depicted in the reference book The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide, which was co-written by Terryl Whitlatch and Bob Carrau, with the former providing the illustrations.[1]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns
- Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide
- Coruscant and the Core Worlds
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Galactic Hunters Card: Gungan Hunter (backup link)
- The Essential Atlas
- Galaxy at War
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 97 ("bursa")
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
- ↑ The Essential Atlas places the War of the Gungan tribes at this time.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1
Lostwords: The Essential Guide to Episode I on Continuity, Criticisms, and Captain Panaka — Daniel Wallace's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds