- "The tibidon sand whale is the tibidee's significantly more massive relative. It measures three hundred meters long and weighs more than four thousand kilograms."
- ―From the journal of Ardis San Tekka
Tibidon sand whales, or just sand whales, were a relative of the tibidee that was native to the desert planet Tatooine. Measuring three hundred meters in length, the sand whales used their pectoral fins and a tail fluke to propel themselves through either sand or air. In 9 ABY, the sand whaling station Tibidon Station was set up to harvest meat from the corpse of a tibidon sand whale on Tatooine.
Biology and appearance[]
- "The sand whale is native to Tatooine. It uses its broad tail fluke and ten pectoral fins (five on each rib cage) to propel it through the sand or air."
- ―From the journal of Ardis San Tekka
Tibidon sand whales,[4] also known as just sand whales,[5] were a huge[3] non-sentient species that were three hundred meters in length and weighted over four thousand kilograms. They had flat bodies with a head at one end consisting of a mouth and two eyes, and a tail fluke at the other. The creatures had ten wing-like, pectoral fins, five on each ribcage, which they used in combination with their tail to propel themselves through either sand or air. They were relatives of the smaller tibidee.[1]
History[]
In 9 BBY,[6] the gray carcass of a tibidon sand whale was partially submerged in the desert of Tatooine,[2] the sand whales' home planet.[1] A sand whaling station[3] called Tibidon Station[7] was established to harvest the meat from the carcass, with foreman Groff Ditcher overseeing workers like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padu Cherd as they cut up the meat.[2] Galactic Society of Creature Enthusiasts Director of Creature Cartography Ardis San Tekka wrote an entry on tibidon sand whales in her journal[1] at some point after the Battle of Exegol in 35 ABY.[8]
Behind the scenes[]
A tibidon sand whale appeared in the first episode of the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series,[2] which aired on May 27, 2022.[9] The design for the creature was repurposed from a Ralph McQuarrie sketch exploring the concept of a flying whale for[4] the 1980[10] film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.[4]
The creature was not named in the episode, although the audio description did state that the station set up next to it was a sand whaling station.[3] The show's sixth episode,[5] released on June 22, 2022,[11] then identified the creature as a sand whale in its audio description.[5] The full name of tibidon sand whale was then provided in the guide for the episode on StarWars.com.[4]
Appearances[]
Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part I" (First appearance) (Appears as a corpse)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi 1 (Appears as a corpse)
Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part VI" (First identified as sand whale) (mentioned in audio description only)
Sources[]
Part I Episode Guide | Obi-Wan Kenobi on StarWars.com (backup link) (First identified as tibidon sand whale)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
"A Certain Point of View" — Star Wars Insider 216
- Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy
- Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Databank (backup link)
tibidon carving station in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3
Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part I"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3
Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part I" (audio description)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3
Part I Trivia Gallery | Obi-Wan Kenobi on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2
Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part VI" (audio description)
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi to 9 BBY. Therefore, the events of "Part I" must be set in 9 BBY.
- ↑
Star Wars: The Vintage Collection (Pack: Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Multipack) (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy describes the clone of Darth Sidious as having perished prior to its writing. As Star Wars: Timelines dates the clone's death at the Battle of Exegol to 35 ABY, it must take place after this date.
- ↑
Obi-Wan Kenobi (@obiwankenobi) on Twitter: "The time for #ObiWanKenobi has arrived…early. Start streaming the first two episodes on @DisneyPlus TONIGHT at 9PM PT." (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑
Everything New You Can Stream on Disney+ in June 2022 on D23.com (backup link)