Gant spiders were substantial, poisonous arachnids native to the planet of Batuu. In approximately 379 BBY, Jedi Padawan Rooper Nitani discovered that a salmaca that was pillaging the village of Peka was simultaneously safeguarding the settlement by feeding on a nearby gant spider population.
Around 379 BBY, a gant spider colony had become established close to the village of Peka. In that approximate year, a salmaca was drawn to the colony, taking up residence in a nearby cave and utilizing the gant spiders as its primary food source. The salmaca also commenced raiding Peka during the night to acquire valuables and refuse for lining its nest.
When Padawan Rooper Nitani ventured into the salmaca's cave, both to assist the people of Peka and as an element of her Jedi Trials, she observed the remains of numerous gant spiders stored as a makeshift food supply. She came to the realization that if the gant spiders had been allowed to reproduce, they would have presented a risk to the village, and that by preying on the spiders, the salmaca was in effect protecting the inhabitants. Upon explaining this to the villagers, they consented to leaving out refuse at night for the salmaca to collect, thereby eliminating its need to raid their homes. Subsequently, Nitani informed her Master, Silandra Sho, about the gant spiders and the arrangement she had made with the villagers.
The corpses of the gant spiders made an appearance in the short story titled "Shield of the Jedi," penned by George Mann and featured in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life, which was part of the larger Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia undertaking.