Drashig Drashigs were one of the most dangerous predators in the universe . Biology . Drashigs were massive snake - like creatures with six eyes on stalks , fanged mouths and segmented bodies with greenish brown skin . They also had a sparse covering of hair . Their hide was strong enough to withstand machine gun fire , but especially large amounts of damage could kill them . They were very strong and could burst through metal structures . They lived in marshy areas . ( TV : " Carnival of Monsters ) " Drashigs were unintelligent , but social . They hunted in packs of three and lived in colonies of twenty . When hunting or in pain , they emitted a chilling scream . Drashigs could and would eat anything , including most metals . They hunted by scent and they would never give up the hunt once they found a trail . On the other hand , they would follow the trail , even when the prey had doubled back or were right by them . They could fully submerge themselves in deep water and use their eyes to look for prey without giving away their hiding place , allowing them to launch surprise attacks and to have a wider field of vision , even seeing behind their own heads . ( TV : " Carnival of Monsters " ) History . When a battlethruster made an emergency landing on the Drashigs ' satellite , the Drashigs killed all fifty of the crew . The crew used weapons to defend themselves , but , save for a few scraps of the reactor venticle , the Drashigs consumed the ship . A colony of Drashigs were kept in Vorg ' s Miniscope . While wandering through the Miniscope , the Third Doctor and Jo Grant accidentally found themselves in the Drashig habitat . The Drashigs followed them through the Miniscope , attacking the human habitat and eventually escaping out into Inter Minor , where they killed Kalik and Orum , two Inter Minorian government officials . However , the escaped Drashigs were all killed by Vorg with the Eradicator . ( TV : " Carnival of Monsters " ) In a different Miniscope owned by Sabalom Glitz , there was also a Drashig habitat . ( PROSE : " Goth Opera " ) To kill the Eighth Doctor , Ryoth used a Time Scoop to bring a Drashig to the Eye of Orion . He chose it as he deemed Drashigs invulnerable . The Fifth and Eighth Doctor s built a Temporal Reverse Feedback Field that sent the Drashig to Ryoth ' s location , where it ate him and the Time Scoop . The Drashig was transmat ted to the Death Zone where it was hoped it would kill the other " horrors there " . ( PROSE : " The Eight Doctors " ) Other references . When activated , the Master ' s hypnosound device which created fear - based illusions , caused Jo to imagine she saw a Drashig . ( TV : " Frontier in Space " ) Using psychometry on the sonic screwdriver , Professor Herbert Clegg " saw " images of Drashigs . ( TV : " Planet of the Spiders " ) Iris Wildthyme encountered Drashigs in a feeding frenzy on their homeplanet . ( PROSE : " The Scarlet Empress " ) There was a brand of cigarette s called Drashig Cigarettes . ( PROSE : " Mean Streets " ) One of the programs on Channel 400 was " " Walking with Drashigs " " . ( PROSE : " Prime Time " ) At the funeral of the Doctor , the Shansheeth used the memory weave to bring back memories of the Drashig for Jo Jones . ( TV : " Death of the Doctor " ) According to Bernice Summerfield , the mating call of a Drashig sounded like an 18th century passenger ship horn . ( PROSE : " All - Consuming Fire " ) Behind the scenes . Drashig is an anagram of dish - rag . ( DWMS Winter 1994 ) Katy Manning stated this was what was generally used as a placeholder for the monster during filming . ( DOC : " Destroy All Monsters ! " ) The sound effect used for the roar was a reversed motor car screech . ( DOC : " Destroy All Monsters ! " ) Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson claimed on an audio commentary for " The Five Doctors " that " Drashig " was one of his first words .