The Raich, a meat-eating monster, made its home on the forest moon of Endor. This creature was infamous for hunting various animals that lived within the moon's woodlands. To successfully capture and consume these forest creatures, the Raich possessed a peculiar natural ability. A small opening on its forehead could shoot a dense cloud of gas into the air, granting the Raich control over the animals and effectively enslaving them. Once entranced, these forest animals would be led back to the Raich's cave, where they patiently awaited their turn to become the Raich's meal. Eventually, the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village clashed with the Raich and its methods, deciding to end the creature's dominance over the forest. By using a magic cap, the Ewoks managed to transform the Raich into a harmless tree.
Years later, Wicket Wystri Warrick and his companions accidentally freed the Raich from its arboreal prison. In the following crisis, the beast resumed its control over the forest's animals, including the pet bordok named Baga. Fearing that Baga would become the Raich's next meal and that the creature would reestablish its reign of terror, Wicket and his friends were compelled to create a new plan to recapture and imprison the Raich once more. Aided by the Two-headed Gonster, Wicket acquired another magic cap for use against the Raich, and the Ewok children confronted the creature at its cave. This perilous encounter culminated in Wicket placing the cap back on the Raich's head, transforming it back into a simple tree.
Hailing from the verdant forests of Endor, the Raich was a sizable, two-legged monster. It remains unclear whether it belonged to a widespread species or was merely an inexplicable mutant; however, the native Ewoks' unfamiliarity with the creature suggests the latter. Though exclusively inhabiting the Endorian moon, the Raich was apparently known off-world as "Raitch," and the curse "son-of-a-raitch" was occasionally used.
This beast was a voracious carnivore with a seemingly endless appetite, and it had evolved a method for luring various types of non-sentient animals into its grasp. The Raich would eject a thick gas from a hole on its head, acting as a form of mind control that enslaved nearby forest animals. It would then guide its captured prey back to its cave, situated deep within the Dead Forest, where the animals obediently awaited their turn to satisfy the Raich's hunger.
This behavior inevitably led to conflict with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. Animals from the Ewoks' village began to fall under the same hypnotic influence and were led away. Unable to stop the Raich or its actions, the Ewoks sought assistance. The Two-headed Gonster of the Twin Hills—a self-proclaimed monster catcher—was enlisted to aid the desperate Ewoks. The Gonster provided the Ewoks with a magic cap designed to transform the Raich into a harmless tree. However, there was no guarantee that the Ewoks would succeed in placing the hat on the monster's head.
The village's most skilled warriors tracked the Raich back to its lair and managed to corner it. After a lengthy and intense battle, the Ewok warriors emerged victorious. One Ewok managed to sneak up behind the Raich and place the cap on its head. The creature immediately began transforming into a tree, ending the threat to the village and breaking the Raich's spell over the forest animals. The story of this conflict was documented in the Scroll of the Raich for future Ewok generations to learn from. Young Ewoks were warned to stay away from the Raich's tree and to never disturb the magic cap that remained on it. The scroll was eventually passed down to the Ewok Logray, who recounted the tale to the young Ewoks of the tribe.
Despite these precautions, the Raich's imprisonment was not permanent. Sometime before the Battle of Endor, the Ewok children Wicket W. Warrick, Latara, and Teebo stumbled upon the Raich's tree. The Shadow Night Festival, a costume party where young Ewoks celebrated and socialized, was approaching. Wicket, lacking a costume for the festival, decided that the cap would be perfect. Teebo attempted to dissuade Wicket, vaguely recalling the story from Master Logray's scrolls, but Wicket dismissed his concerns, asserting that a strong warrior like himself had nothing to fear. Sensing its impending escape, the Raich manipulated the branches of its prison to expedite Wicket's ascent toward the cap.
The moment Wicket removed the cap from the tree, the ground began to shake violently. The simple tree began to revert to its original form as the three Ewoks watched in astonishment. With a terrifying roar of triumph, the Raich sent the Ewoks fleeing in panic. The Raich pursued them through the forest, demanding the return of the cap. Wicket immediately complied, and the Raich ceased its pursuit. With the cap in its possession, the Raich tore the magical artifact to pieces, confident that it could no longer be trapped. The Raich then immediately began to reassert its control over the forest creatures. Upon encountering the Ewok Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka with her pet bordok Baga, the Raich released a large amount of its gas, placing Baga under its control and leading him away.
The Raich then proceeded to Bright Tree Village and employed the same tactic on the animals under the Ewoks' care. Compelled to obey, the animals abandoned their Ewok masters and followed the Raich back to its cave. There, the Raich had constructed makeshift cages and tethers to confine the animals while it prepared a small fire to roast its captured prey. After consuming at least one animal, the Raich remained hungry and prowled its cave, deciding on its next meal. Spotting Baga, the Raich decided to eat the bordok next. However, after poking Baga in the stomach, it deemed him too skinny and began to throw piles of plant food at him, commanding him to eat and fatten up.
While the Raich attempted to fatten its prey and attract more animals to its lair, the Ewoks who had inadvertently freed it resolved to imprison it once again. The group visited the Two-headed Gonster and persuaded him to create a new magic cap for them. As the Gonster worked on the cap, Wicket and Kneesaa traveled to the Dead Forest on the back of a Hoosha with the mission of preventing Baga from being eaten. Their plan involved Wicket placing Dream flower potion in the Raich's water bowl to induce sleep. With the Raich incapacitated, the Ewoks would then easily place the cap back on its head.
Unfortunately for the Ewoks, just as Wicket was about to pour the potion into the bowl, he slipped and knocked it over, spilling the contents across the forest floor. The commotion alerted the Raich to the rescue mission, and it captured Wicket and Kneesaa. The Raich tied the two Ewoks up with rope and placed them inside its cave while it continued to feed on the hypnotized animals. As night fell, the Raich was still drawing animals into its clutches, but it had become tired after the day's events. Deciding to eat later, the Raich lay down on the floor of its cave and quickly fell asleep.
While the Raich slumbered, Teebo and Latara arrived with the magic cap from the Gonster, but seeing that the Raich was still awake, they realized that Wicket and Kneesaa's plan had failed. Teebo quickly disguised himself as a zomba and entered the cave. He found and released his captive friends, but the doorway was blocked by the sleeping Raich. The Ewoks and Baga attempted to sneak out of the cave quietly, but the bordok accidentally stepped on a stray bone lying in the Raich's cave. The bone snapped loudly under Baga's hoof, and the Raich immediately awoke. Seeing its prey escaping, the Raich leaped to its feet and chased the fleeing Ewoks.
Pursuing the Ewoks into the forest, the Raich was forced to push aside trees as the group attempted to escape. The Raich tried to grab the young Ewoks, but they were too quick and evaded its attempts. Enraged by these events, the Raich released several more puffs of thick gas, enslaving the surrounding animals, including Baga. The Raich's power influenced a nearby zakool, which emerged from the bushes and confronted the Ewoks, eventually forcing Teebo and Latara to climb a tree for safety. The Raich also forced Baga to attack his masters, and the bordok nearly succeeded in goring Kneesaa. However, the Raich's tactics failed to stop Wicket, who, swinging on a vine, managed to place the new cap on the Raich's head. Unfortunately, the Ewoks had forgotten a crucial step: the magic cap only worked when sparkle seeds were on it.
Mocking the Ewoks' failed plan, the Raich ripped the cap from its head and flung it aside, resuming its attempt to crush Wicket. However, the cap was caught midair by Teebo, who was still hiding in the tree to avoid the zakool. With Latara's help, Teebo added the sparkle seeds to the cap, finally making it effective against the Raich. Teebo then threw the cap back to Wicket as he continued to frantically evade the Raich. With the cap in hand, Wicket scurried through the Raich's legs, bounced off a tree, and landed on the Raich's back. Just as the Raich reached up to grab Wicket, the Ewok slammed the cap down on the monster's head. With a cry of terror, the Raich began to transform back into a harmless tree.
With the Raich transformed once more, the animals returned to their normal behavior, and the zakool left the area, allowing Teebo and Latara to descend from their refuge. The animals that had been tethered in the Raich's cave were released and returned to either the forest or their Ewok caretakers. Although Wicket wanted to take a piece of the Raich's tree as a trophy for his Belt of Honor, Latara refused, as the Shadow Night Festival was about to begin back at the village.
Upon returning to the village and the lively party, Wicket and Kneesaa overheard Logray and Chief Chirpa discussing the day's events. Wicket wanted to tell the Chief how he had single-handedly defeated the Raich, but Kneesaa pulled him away from the conversation, telling him to forget about it. The Raich remained in the middle of the Dead Forest, and while it was possible that it could be freed again, there is no record of such an occurrence.
The Raich was a sentient beast, but its mentality was remarkably simple, focused solely on eating and acquiring food. The Raich spoke in short, fragmented sentences, possibly indicating limited intelligence. However, when it captured two young Ewoks, it demonstrated the presence of mind and dexterity to tie them up with rope. The Raich was not inherently violent or sadistic, but it was determined to defend its territory. When the Ewoks invaded its cave and attempted to reclaim its captured animals, the Raich acted instinctively, trying to crush the intruders. However, there are no other recorded instances of the Raich attempting to harm sentient beings like the Ewoks.
The Raich was easily distinguished by its large size compared to the Ewoks of Endor, standing more than four times their average height. Its fearsome appearance was further enhanced by a line of large spikes along its shoulders and an oversized mouth. In addition to these features, the Raich possessed a fleshy spout on its head, which expelled a thick gas that served as a mind-control device for the non-sentient animals of the Endorian forest. The release of this gas was accompanied by a low droning sound.
Michael Reaves created the Raich for the fifth episode of the second season of Ewoks, entitled "The Raich."
The method by which the magic cap defeats the Raich remains unexplained in the episode, but it is possible that the sparkle seeds on the cap had a transformative effect. It is also possible that the magic cap was a Force-sensitive object with transformative abilities, similar to Charal's magic ring.
In the novel MedStar II: Jedi Healer, Jos Vondar uses the phrase "son-of-a-raitch." Since Michael Reaves also wrote that novel, it may be that Vondar is referring to the Raich of Endor and that "raitch" is a misspelling. However, this spelling was repeated in Reaves' Death Star, suggesting either a deliberate change in spelling or a completely different reference.