Force-Sensitive Animals
The Force is an interesting power. Not only can it be felt and used by what we would think of as "civilized" beings, but animals as well. Let's take a look at some of the more prominent species of Force-using animals.
First up is the Ysalamiri. This creature looks much like a salamander living on the planet Myrkr. They have talon-like claws that they use to grip trees and draw nutrients directly from the trees themselves. Special care is needed to remove them or they can be easily killed in the process. But their most notable feature is how they are able to use the Force to form a bubble. This bubble is like no other. It creates a space in which the Force cannot be used. The Force cannot be manipulated for up to 10 meters around a single animal. In groups, the area grows exponentially. Grand Admiral Thrawn used Ysalamiri to shield himself from Force-users.
The Ysalamiri's defense protect them from another species on Myrkr; the vornskrs. Vornskrs are canine pack hunters with dark fur and poison coated tail spikes. These animals use the Force to hunt other Force-using animals. This includes Jedi. The Yuuzhan Vong genetically engineered vornskrs to hunt Jedi called voxyn. This animal kept the poison spiked tail but had sharper claws and acid-spitting glands.
The oddest one of the bunch is probably the taozin from the jungles of Va'art. This is a translucent vertebrae that can evade detection when being sought by the Force. The nodules on this creature's body interfere with Force senses. Its body is covered with crystals that diffuse energy. This causes it to be immune to most blasters and even lightsabers. When a lightsaber hits its body, the energy spreads out over the crystals and dissipates. Since it cannot be felt with the Force, it can be especially dangerous to Jedi. At one point, Emperor Palpatine considered using the nodules from taozin as amulets for his inquisitors.
Much like taozin are nighthunters. This animal uses the force to form a cloak around itself, much like a walking shadow. The Jedi Path instructed padawans to recognize the silhouette of a nighthunter since they were commonly guard animals.
The beck-tori is our next animal, and he's an ugly one. The beck-tori is an aquatic animal, deemed a parasite, they use the Force to hunt. It is also believed they can use the Force to heal their injuries quicker.
One of the most interesting is the Akk dog. Akk dogs are unlike any animal in the Star Wars universe. They form a Force bond with their owner, especially if they are Force-sensitive themselves. Akk's are from the planet Haruun Kal, Master Mace Windu's native planet. The Haruun Kal natives, the Korunnai, are the descendants of a group of Jedi who crashed on the planet thousands of years earlier. Because of this, most of the population is Force-sensitive. (To get a deeper insight into this animal, I would highly recommend the novel Shatterpoint.)
Our last animal is the Jakobeast. An arctic herd animal, the Jakobeast uses it's horns to create a telekinetic push that can flip a speeder and knock down trees.
The Star Wars galaxy just got a lot bigger, didn't it? Though we like to think of ourselves at the top of the food chain, no matter what galaxy you're in, there's always a bigger Force-sensitive animal.
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