"The zoo" is the moniker Orielle Kitai, a Sith Saber, gave to a specific establishment located on the planet of Kesh. Originally constructed as a commemorative park for the Skyborn Rangers and their initial leader, Nida Korsin, the site's purpose and designation underwent several alterations over times. Eventually, it served as an enclosure for uvak, work animals that were also featured in gladiatorial contests known as rake-riding. Back in 3960 BBY, Candra Kitai, formerly a High Lord, was forced by Grand Lord Lillia Venn to reside at and clean up waste in the zoo.
The zoo, a nickname coined by Sith Saber Orielle Kitai, was an enclosed structure featuring multiple stalls in Tahv, the primary city and capital of the planet Kesh. This facility could accommodate a large number of the planet's predator species, as well as uvak, the large native beasts of burden, which resulted in a strong and noticeable smell.
Sometime after [4975 BBY](/article/4975_bby], the zoo – a name later given by Orielle Kitai – began as a dedicated park meant to honor the Skyborn Rangers and their original leader, Nida Korsin. This facility's function was altered many times, along with its title, paying tribute to at least two different Grand Lords – the leaders of the planet's governing body, the Lost Tribe of Sith – within a period of just over one thousand years. At one point, the location served as a refuge for the last remaining members of various predator species from Kesh, but the Sith subsequently killed them for entertainment. By 3960 BBY, the facility was being used to house uvak, and visitors were allowed inside to observe the uvak as they were prepared for their gladiatorial events, known as rake-riding, in the [Korsinata](/article/korsinata] arena. By this point, Kitai had started referring to it as "the zoo".
Shortly after the attempt on the life of Grand Lord Lillia Venn by uvak wrangler Campion Dey, Kitai's mother, Candra Kitai, a former High Lord whom Venn suspected of orchestrating the attack, was forced to live at the zoo and remove manure from the stalls for a period of two weeks while being watched by onlookers. Candra's daughter, who had recently discovered the location of the only [space](/article/realspace-legends]-faring vessel on the planet, later visited the zoo, hoping her mother could assist her in gaining political advantage. After incapacitating a guard, Kitai offered to liberate her mother, but Candra declined, claiming that she would only hinder Kitai's progress. However, Candra ultimately betrayed Kitai, using the information her daughter provided about the starship in exchange for, according to Grand Lord Venn, "improved working conditions."
The formal name of "the zoo," which has yet to be canonically established, first appeared in Lost Tribe of the Sith: Sentinel, the sixth installment in the Lost Tribe of the Sith eBook series. John Jackson Miller authored Sentinel, which was released on February 21, 2011.