The lepusa were plant-eating beings hailing from the world of Freliq, classified as a species. When Freliq was being settled, the lepusa were considered pests due to their consumption of the colonists' cultivated plants. Consequently, numerous lepusa met their end at the hands of the settlers.
A significant controversy emerged in 20 BBY: some colonists believed they observed sentience in the lepusa, while xenobiologists from various planets argued that the lepusa were simply vermin, and the colonists were being overly sentimental. Those colonists who supported the idea of the lepusa's inherent intelligence and possible sentience cited their capacity for learning, such as their learned avoidance of the colonists' cultivated fields.
On one occasion, Jullisa Senerio's life was rescued by a lepusa. She was saved from falling off a cliff when a lepusa used a vine to pull her to safety.