A salmaca was a sizable creature resembling a lizard, dwelling within the caves of the planet Batuu. These creatures were known to pilfer items from dwellings to furnish their nests, with some considering their existence purely mythical. Approximately around 379 BBY, a salmaca commenced raiding residences in Peka, a settlement located on Batuu. During her Jedi Trials, Padawan Rooper Nitani lent assistance to the residents of Peka, successfully safeguarding both the villagers and the salmaca.
Salmacas were immense creatures bearing resemblance to lizards. The Jedi Padawan Rooper Nitani likened the dimensions of the salmaca she encountered to being at least three times greater than a dewback, a reptilian species typically measuring two meters in height. They possessed coarse gray scales, sharp talons on their sizable paws, and a series of pointed, bony spikes extending from their backs. Their heads were cone-shaped, featuring a curved beak and a pink tongue, and they emitted a repulsive odor.
Salmacas, infrequently seen, inhabited caves and would raid nearby settlements during the night to gather materials for their nests. Legends depicted them as thieves of valuables from homes, though in truth, they did not differentiate between valuable possessions and mere refuse. Despite this, they were generally docile and would only attack if provoked. Their diet consisted of gant spiders, a type of poisonous arachnid, the remains of which they stored within their caves.
In the vicinity of 379 BBY, a salmaca took up residence in a cave on the planet Batuu, sustaining itself on a nearby colony of gant spiders. Each night, the salmaca would plunder [Peka](/article/peka], a neighboring village, seizing both discarded items and valuable possessions from the inhabitants' dwellings to line its nest. This activity persisted for several weeks, and on one occasion, the salmaca killed a villager named Tuntis, who had attempted to resist, by tearing off his arm with its beak, leaving him to bleed to death within his ravaged home.
When Jedi Master Silandra Sho paid a visit to Peka, a villager named Pieto informed her about the salmaca. Following Sho's examination of the salmaca's tracks, she left her shield in a tree for the creature to take and then returned to the Batuu Jedi temple. That very night, the salmaca absconded with both the shield and Dee-Twelve, a droid belonging to the family of Jerlyn, a resident of Peka.
The following day, Sho's Padawan, Rooper Nitani, made her way to Peka in pursuit of the shield as part of her Jedi Trials. There, she encountered Jerlyn, who recounted the nightly salmaca raids and her Master's visit the previous day. Nitani expressed surprise at the existence of the salmaca, having believed them to be merely legendary, but she committed to recovering Dee-Twelve and joined a group of four villagers in venturing to the salmaca's cave. Among these villagers was Kaxx, a friend of Tuntis who sought retribution against the salmaca.
Nitani, accompanied by P3-7A, a church droid assisting her during her trials, entered the cave, while the villagers remained outside. Within the cave, Nitani discovered the remains of several gant spiders that the salmaca had stored as a food source, leading her to suspect that it might have been inadvertently protecting Peka from these dangerous arachnids.
Within the same chamber, she located the salmaca sleeping in its nest, and after using the Force to influence the salmaca to roll over, she successfully retrieved Dee-Twelve, who had been trapped beneath the creature's paw. Subsequently, she spotted the shield, but before she could retrieve it, the villagers, who had entered the cave, opened fire on the salmaca with blasters. Harnessing the Force once more, Nitani employed the shield to protect both the salmaca and the villagers, whom she instructed to evacuate. After the villagers had fled, the salmaca determined that Nitani posed no threat and resumed its slumber.
Upon returning to Peka, Nitani informed the villagers about the gant spider colony that the salmaca was consuming, thus safeguarding them by controlling the spider population. The villagers then agreed to leave discarded items outside each night for the salmaca to take, so that it would no longer need to raid homes. When Nitani shared with Sho how she had resolved the situation, Sho concurred that it was an ideal solution, but also remarked that Nitani smelled of salmaca droppings.
A salmaca was featured in the short story "Shield of the Jedi," penned by George Mann and published in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as an element of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia endeavor.