Sarlacc

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

―C-3PO translating for Jabba the Hutt^[src]

Sarlaccs were dangerous, carnivorous creatures, as well as one of Jabba the Hutt's favorite pets,^[1] that inhabited the Great Pit of Carkoon in the Dune Sea of Tatooine. It shared common ancestry with other species, including the rathtar, blixus and vixus.^[5]

Biology and appearance

"It's hard to hug a sarlacc, right?"

―Dec Hansen^[src]

File:Sarlacc-JtR.png

Lorica Demaris falls into a sarlacc on Vodran.

Sarlaccs began their lives as spores and were able to travel great distances. When a male and female encountered one another, the smaller male would parasitically feed off the female, diminishing her size while increasing his own. Once the male reached the female's original size, he would burst, releasing millions of spores into the air and atmosphere.^[6]

Once sarlaccs reached their maturity after 30,000 years, they would burrow themselves nearly 100 meters below the surface, feeding on creatures unfortunate enough to fall into their mouths. Victims of the sarlacc were injected with immobilizing neurotoxins that caused constant pain, and, while still conscious, digested for millennia.^[6]

A hundred meters in height, its entire body was buried in sand, save its massive mouth and beaked tongue.^[2] The sarlacc had several appendages that branched off from its buried body, and many stomachs.^[7] The creature swallowed its prey whole, and its mouth contained rows of hundreds of spear-like teeth, which kept the victim from climbing back out.^[1]

There was some debate among xenobiologists as to whether the creature was a plant or animal, though most found the creature far too dangerous to merit an extended study of the question.^[8]

History

A sarlacc was mentioned on a bill seen in the Power Sliders diner during the Clone Wars.^[9] After Luke Skywalker killed Jabba's rancor as part of his rescue of Leia Organa, Han Solo and Chewbacca, Jabba became outraged and ordered that they all be fed to the sarlacc. Luke described this as being the last mistake that he would ever make, but Jabba was unimpressed and had the group escorted out. Upon arrival at the Great Pit of Carkoon, Skywalker, using his recently developed skills as a Jedi Knight, rescued the group, and led to a number of Jabba's guards becoming victims of the sarlacc instead. The bounty hunter Boba Fett was also knocked into the mouth of the sarlacc by Han Solo.^[10]

During the cold war, a squad of Resistance members known as J-Squadron landed on the planet Vodran, and encountered a Sarlacc that tried to ingest them.^[4]

Behind the scenes

The sound of the sarlacc in Return of the Jedi was created from sounds of alligator hisses, as well as the sounds of some of the Jedi crew's stomachs after eating pizza.^[11]

In the Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, the sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon was revised to include a beak-like tongue and extra tentacles. George Lucas had this done because he never felt the creature seemed alive in the original film.^[source?]