References to real-world animals in Star Wars Novels

I was just recently reading the novelization and I noticed something very odd...
There were references to Earth animals... Obi-Wan mentions a duck... Tarkin is described as having a face like a piranha and there was something mentioned about some non-human being a cross between a capybara and a baboon.

I was wondering if this happened in any of the other novels...

Bonus: There is one huge reference to a real world animal in Star Wars. If anyone can find it they get a bonus point from me...
(its not one of the ones mentioned above.)

 

"If don't get that sheild back up, we'll be sitting ducks" - Captain Panaka, TPM.

Semi-sentinent ponies in the Ewok movies, along with goats and such.

If the GFFA can have humans and redwoods, I think they have have dogs and ducks. Never bothered me.

 

I think there is also reference to a dog barking when Luke is Tatooine.

 

Yeah. Luke once had a dog.

 

"Luke was thinking of a dog he once owned when something wrenched at the ship with the strength of a fallen angel."

Something like that, anyway.

 

Don't forget the Millennium "Falcon."

 

Dan Wallace wins the bonus point.


I just thought this was amusing because the EU authors try so hard to make up tehir own stuff... there's no aluminum and steel its all duracrete and flimsiplast and ferrocrete and stuff. They have topatoes and coffiene and have pet "vornskrs".

I just thought it was funny tyo point out that the original novel just used real animals.

 

Whatshisname mentions cattle on the bridge of the Chimaera. Dinosaurs and rabbits are mentioned in Lando Calrissian Trilogy.

 

Don't forget about "Plasteel". That was the big one!

Jae Angel

 

Ric Olie also said 'Sitting Ducks'. Quack! Thanks for showing up, Ric.

 

That was Panaka.

 

Does anyone know what a nerf looks like?
I haven't read much of the galaxy guides and WEG source material, or the guide to alien species for that matter.

 

Sand panthers, pirahana bettles, Kowikian monkey lizards, fish[/], hawkbats, Rallitir tigers. Everything mentioned in bold face is the name of a real world animal, even if the Star Wars name is a combination of different real world animals.

 

Not an animal per say, but what's a 'Headhunter?' for someone in Star Wars?

 

'Banthas, all right', Luke whispered over his shoulder, not considering in the excitement of the moment that Threepio might not know a bantha from a panda

-- ANH novelization

 

A headhunter is the predecessor of the X-wing.

the cat: "cattle"

thats not really specific to any terrestrial species, I thought.

I really don't like it when we get those earth-gffa crossovers like "duck" and "dog" and "rabbit". I wish they'd just used established star wars species or make up their own ones (as long as they don't go willynilly making up things that are just stupid).

This is kind of related- Ephant Mon. Couldn't whoever named that character (was it GL or an author in Tales from Mos Eisley?) could have been a little more inventive??

 

There is a headhunter species. Which the star fighter was named after. Its a canine, I think. There is a pic and description of it in the Essential Guide to Alien Species.

The nerf can also be found in there. Although, there are false nerfs as well.

 

Although it's slightly off-subject, Lando also says "Saturday" in the LC trilogy. Does that mean in the GFFA they have the same days and months? This seems a bit stupid because the names of days and months are derived from mythological and historical figures in OUR history. I just put it down to a huge coincidence that on some planet in the GFFA they also have a day called Saturday.

The animals thing I don't have a problem with unless the animal is specifically defined e.g. Mallard ducks or Eider ducks. I quite like the idea of Luke having a dog, but if they'd mentioned that he once owned an Alsatian or Boxer then that wouldn't really work.

 

Yak face


and didn't Han say slugs in the original trilogy?

 

A nerf looks like a yak with a triangular head that has 1 horn coming out of each side of the head and 2 horns on the top of the head.And its legs are big and muscular with clawlike hooves and a really big tail.

 

Did anyone say womp rats yet?

 

Here's a biggie: Humans

 

Yes. And redwoods. As I stated above.

 

And what about all those lizards and snakes on Dagobah. They weren't CGI nor were they painted to look different either.

 

Wow! What a good response!

But I personally don't think alien species with adjectivfes then an earth name are that bad...
"womp rats" doesnt bug me, but if it was just "rats" that would be annoying...
oh well