An Iakaru stands over a fallen death trooper.
At the time of the Battle of Scarif, Iakaru were an uncommon sight in the galaxy, as they had not developed hyperdrive technology. Their homeworld Iakar had been visited by interstellar trade for nearly a century. Pharmaceutical corporations drew valuable organic compounds from the lush rain forests girdling the planet. During the Clone Wars, companies set up major research installations on Iakar, which drove the Iakaru deeper into the jungle and strained the tentative trading relationships the natives had established with the offworlders. With the rise of the Galactic Empire and its military expansion, demand for medical supplies escalated, which brought a full-scale Imperial seizure and occupation of Iakar.
Iakuru first appeared in the 2015 mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Pablo Hidalgo named the Iakuru after the Amazonian uakari monkey.