Condor dragons, which are also known as mantigrues, were a type of flying reptavian species that were predators. They were native to the Forest Moon of Endor. These creatures were recognizable due to their bony dorsal ridges, large fangs, clawed legs, and [red](/article/color/legends] leathery wings. Their eyes, which were yellow, possessed keen eyesight, and they made their homes on the cliffsides that cut through the forests. A condor dragon was once enslaved by Morag, who was a witch of the Tulgah people.
The reptavian creatures known as condor dragons, also called mantigrues, hailed from the Forest Moon of Endor. Endor is a world situated within the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy. Key features included bony ridges along their spines, a pair of clawed legs, and [red](/article/color-legends] leathery wings that spanned approximately three meters. Further distinguishing characteristics were their prominent fangs, sharp yellow eyes with excellent vision, and elongated, pointed beaks. Their skin was green, and Logray, the shaman of the Ewok tribe, stated their hide was too tough to be harmed.
Condor dragons were predators that were carnivorous. In pursuit of prey, condor dragons would launch themselves from tall outcroppings and dive in spiraling patterns. Their attacks were often accompanied by loud screeches. It was said that large condor dragons would seize Ewoks directly from the backs of their pony mounts. While their diet included various species, such as rearing spiders, Ewok ponies were not to their liking. Some condor dragons also acted as scavengers.
These dragons typically captured their prey alive, transporting them back to their nests. These nests were situated in locations such as caves, canyons, and rocky peaks. Condor dragons were active both during the day and night. Certain condor dragons, like the one that belonged to Morag, the witch of the Tulgah people, could be trained.
Following the Battle of Yavin, Jener Mich, a collector, gave a group of spacers the task of hunting down and killing a large number of mantigrues.
Morag, the Tulgah witch, enslaved a condor dragon and forced it to consume sunberry trees, which were important to the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. The lack of sunberries caused many Ewoks to fall ill. Much later, in 3 ABY, Morag's condor dragon stole a pair of sunberry trees from a grove close to Bright Tree Village, which frightened the Ewoks Wicket Wystri Warrick and Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka. The dragon delivered the trees to Morag, who then commanded it to destroy all the berry trees in the grove. Knowing about Morag's plan, the Ewok shaman Logray made a special soap to coat the trees and make them invisible. When the condor dragon came back to the grove, it couldn't see the sunberry trees and flew away.
On another occasion, Morag concocted a poisonous potion and ordered her condor dragon to spread it across the Ewoks' berry forest. In response, Logray created an antidote to counteract the poison's effects.
In 3 ABY, Chief Chirpa of Bright Tree Village used magic to tell a story where Morag rode a condor dragon to steal the Sunstar/Shadowstone. He also told of how Logray, when he was younger, bravely lassoed the dragon's tail and flew to Mount Thunderstone. Later, Warrick was fighting with the Duloks, who were the Ewoks' warring relatives, when a condor dragon attacked him, grabbing his leg and flying away. Warrick's friend Teebo jumped onto the dragon from a hang glider and killed it with an [axe](/article/axe-legends], saving Warrick.
After Sanyassan Marauders raided Bright Tree Village in 3.5 ABY, the Ewok Warrick and the Human girl Cindel Towani ran into a cave along a steep cliff and found a hungry condor dragon. Warrick accidentally woke the dragon and defended himself with a spear, but the dragon grabbed Towani as it flew out of the nest. Warrick chased the dragon on a hang glider and saved Towani from its claws.
The condor dragon initially appeared in the 1984 storybook titled The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense, authored by Joe Johnston, where they were referred to as "mantigrues." Subsequently, the species was featured in the 1985 film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, which Johnston also contributed to. For the movie, Industrial Light & Magic brought the dragon to life using stop-motion animation. According to Ken Wheat, the co-director of Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, the film's condor dragon was made from parts of the rancor puppet that was used in 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
The species was first called "condor dragon" in the 1995 reference book, The Essential Guide to Characters, which recounts events from the Ewoks film. In The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008), "condor dragon" and "mantigrue" are listed as separate entries. The subtitles of Ewoks: The Battle for Endor incorrectly spell the species' name as "mantrigue."