Caniphants were clever beings, adept at concealing their presence, which made them notoriously elusive. A wild caniphant once wreaked havoc on a ranch located on the planet Koboh, the home of hunter Mosey Cimmaron and her mother. It destroyed their barn not just once, but twice. To find this elusive beast, Cimmaron and her mother cleverly inverted the operation of the ranch's moisture vaporators, saturating the atmosphere with increased moisture. This action amplified the caniphant's odor significantly, enabling them to follow its trail.
Following Cal Kestis, the Jedi Knight's slew of the foul-smelling mogu called the Mire Terror in 9 BBY, Cimmaron recounted the story of the caniphant's reign of terror on their ranch. She used it to illustrate the critical role of scent in the art of hunting.
Within current Star Wars canon, the caniphant receives a mention during an optional dialogue sequence. This conversation becomes available after the player successfully concludes "The Mire Terror" rumor within Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the video game released in 2023 by Respawn Entertainment. The creature's origins can be traced back to the Star Wars Legends continuity. It made its debut in The Game Chambers of Questal, a 1990 Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game adventure authored by Paul Murphy and published under the banner of West End Games.