The bursa was a specific type of animal. Tyro Viveca, a hunter, at least once witnessed bursa-baiting on Ohma-D'un, which is a moon orbiting the planet Naboo. During the time known as the Imperial Era, Viveca wrote about this event, as well as watching monster fights on the world Geonosis, within the pages of the Smuggler's Guide, a book that he once owned but had lost before 10 BBY.
The initial mention of bursas within the new Star Wars canon occurred in the 2018 reference book titled Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide, which was authored by Daniel Wallace. The Bursas originally appeared in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where they were creatures resembling bears from the planet Naboo. Their design was initially conceived by Robin Pronovost for The Essential Guide to Episode I, a reference book that Wallace was slated to write.
Wallace made a request to Pronovost for the creature designs after discovering a reference from George Lucas, the director, indicating that the Gungans maintained their Gungan Grand Army due to historical conflicts with creatures similar to bears. Despite the cancellation of the Essential Guide, Pronovost's creature design was subsequently utilized in both the video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and the reference book The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide, both of which were released in 2001.