Tauntaun

The tauntauns first appeared on a screen on Star Wars V: the Empire Strikes Back in 1980. This creature is a reptillomamammaloid omnivore and was used as a pack animal as well as patrol mounts by the rebel alliance in their base at Hoth. Especially at the time when their T-47 Airspeeders were being calibrated for the extreme cold temperatures of the ice planet. They are native to the planet hoth and are specially adapted to the environment.

Society

Tauntauns live in herds and is often led by a matriarch. Each group would normally have 20-30 individuals with them. As a way to claim dominance, head-butting matches are common to these animals both in males and in females

Biology

General Anatomy

Tauntauns posses almost the same genetic makeup as the of a Kybuck mixed with reptillian features like scales. They also lack mammary glands but they are able to form a mike like fluid from the regurgitations of their food. Unlike reptiles tauntauns are also warm blooded, covered with fur and give birth to their young live.

Adaptations to the Environment

The tauntauns adaptations to the cold environment of their home planet includes wide and tridactyl feet with splayed toes to distribute their weight across a large surface area- much like how snow shoes work. This allows them to gain more traction and also have more resistance from the snow- allowing to walk as if they are on solid ground. This also gives more friction, giving them the ability to thread through icy surfaces barely slipping. Their feet are also clawed giving them more grip when hodling on to ice. They also have swiveled ears and thick blubber to keep them warm. Tauntauns also has a unique way of excreting body wastes- one that allows them to never stop moving to urinate or defecate. Their wastes are actually excreted through their sweat glands which also makes them really smell bad. When breathing, their four nostrils heats the air enough to keep them alive. Two of the nostrils are dedicated to this process while the other two concentrate on bringing in oxygen quickly. The Tauntaun's lungs are also chambered. They also have a different blood mixture than that of humans. It is very resistant to freezing over and preventing damage to their vital organs.

Some tauntaun species hibernate in the night or stay hidden in the night because of the extreme cold. There are cases were tauntauns freeze oer when going out on a blizzard or at night like Hans Solo's tauntaun. Although the adaptations allow them to go around during the day, it is understandable that they still cannot go around at night especially in Hoth.

Reproduction

The tauntaun gives birth to two babies every year and these are born live. They feed their litter with a milk like fromt he regurgitation of their food.

Diet

The tauntaun's diet includes plant matter as well as meat. A tauntaun usually eat the fungus beneath the floor lichens found in the many caves of Hoth. Aside from eating the fungus beneath the frost layers, they were also known to prey on ice scrabblers and hoth hogs.

Known Predators

Aside from people like Han Solo forcing a tauntaun to walk through a freezing blizzard and cut it open with a lightsaber to save Luke Skywalker, there is another animal in the planet Hoth that can be considered as an apex predator- the Wampas. To protect themselves, the Tauntauns have developed horns, claws and even their salive. Their saliva is not poisonous but can be irritating to them especially since these saliva gets frozen rather quickly on their face. Compared to the wampas, the tauntauns can also run up to 90 km/hour.

References

Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back. Lucasfilm LTD, 2004
Stern, Michael, and Pablo Hidalgo. Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back. Honesdale, PA: West End Games, 1996. Print
"Tauntaun." Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki. Web. 05 Oct. 2011. (mostly from here)
Windham, Ryder. Star Wars, The Ultimate Visual Guide. New York: DK Pub., 2005 Print.