Rontos, characterized as four-legged saurian herbivores, were native to Tatooine, a desert world. Known for their skittish nature, yet also being gentle and strong, they served as the preferred pack animals and mounts for the Jawas who were indigenous to the planet.
The ronto was a massive saurian, presenting a formidable sight due to its considerable size. These creatures, which moved on four legs, possessed small eyes, pointed ears, and mouths resembling beaks. Their senses of hearing and smell were exceptionally developed. However, their vision was poor, causing them to be easily startled by sudden movements.
Rontos, while well-adapted to arid desert environments like their homeworld of Tatooine, had substantial water requirements for survival. They regulated their body temperature by shedding heat through their skin, and had flap-like folds around their faces that could be extended to shield their eyes during sandstorms. Their considerable strength and resilience made them ideal as mounts.
Despite their imposing size and appearance, rontos were easily startled and of a skittish disposition. They were readily domesticated and put to use by the Jawas as beasts of burden, transporting goods to and from trading locations, and also as mounts. These animals demonstrated loyalty to their owners, combining gentleness with strength.
The Jawas of Tatooine favored rontos, leading to their domestication as the species' preferred animal for carrying loads and as mounts to transport cargo between trading outposts. These rontos were frequently observed traveling to and from settlements on the desert [planet](/article/planet], swaying under the burden of cargo or Jawa riders. Rontos were present in Mos Espa and were a common sight in Mos Eisley, often ridden by inhabitants of the spaceport. On one occasion, during a visit to the city by Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, a careless rider caused a ronto to rear up, throwing off his Jawa passengers, with one left hanging from the reins.
Grakkus the Hutt maintained a collection of creatures in his palace located on Nar Shaddaa, which included a ronto confined among his other caged animals at the time of Luke Skywalker's encounter with the crime lord during the Galactic Civil War.
During the early months of the New Republic, Cobb Vanth and Issa-Or were the owners of two difficult rontos that necessitated the expertise of a beastmaster, a position they offered to Malakili after he rescued the former rancor keeper from the Red Key Raiders. Malakili accepted the job in return for payment and a homestead situated in Freetown.
During the war between the First Order and the Resistance, ronto meat was an ingredient in Ronto Wraps and Ronto Morning Wraps, dishes served at Ronto Roasters located in Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu.
The phrase "pronto-ronto" functioned as an adverb, indicating something done promptly or quickly.
The ronto was conceived for the 1997 Special Edition release of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The creature's design came from artist TyRuben Ellingson, who drew inspiration from elephants, rhinos, and dinosaurs for his concept. Industrial Light & Magic adapted the Brachiosaurus model from Jurassic Park to create the ronto, with animators referring to the creature as "Bronto" during the production phase. George Lucas decided to remove the "b" from the nickname when asked about the creature's official name.