Shatual

A shatual was a species of animal native to the planet Mandalore in the Outer Rim. Shatuals were large creatures that made their homes in Mandalore's veshok forests. Male shatuals, known as bucks, elicited a call consisting of a rhythmic bark when seeking to mate with a female shatual, known as a doe. An adult shatuals size easily overshadowed one of their main predators, the strill, but a single strill was still capable of felling its larger prey on its own. A number of Mandalorians also enjoyed shatual meat, and it was not uncommon for a Mandalorian to hunt shatuals for food, sometimes with the aid of domesticated strills. Roasted shatual haunch was considered an excellent way to celebrate a joyous event, such as the birth of a child.

In the year 20 BBY, sensing the approaching birth of Venku Skirata, the strill known as Lord Mirdalan hunted a shatual near the Skirata clan home, Kyrimorut, and returned with its body with the intent of providing for the baby. Walon Vau—the owner of the affectionately nicknamed "Mird"—and his associates found the display touching, and the shatual was prepared and roasted for the clan's consumption by Rav Bralor, a close friend to the Skirata clan. Both Vau and Mird again hunted a shatual for a clan meal in the year 19 BBY, not long after the rise of the Galactic Empire. By that time, the young Venku Skirata had been fashioned a number of simple toys from veshok wood, one of them carved in the shape of a shatual.

The shatual was first introduced to the Star Wars universe by author Karen Traviss in the third entry in her Republic Commando novel series, True Colors, published October 30, 2007. Shatuals were later mentioned, and its meat featured, in True Colors sequel novels, Order 66 and Imperial Commando: 501st.