Bantha Banthas were a species of large , hair y mammal s with sharp , spiraling horns . They inhabited the desert planet Tatooine , though they were bred on many worlds throughout the galaxy . They were social herd animals , and were often domesticated , and used prominently , by Tusken Raider s as mounts and companionship — though they never killed them for their food or hide , a use utilized by many other species for products such as Bantha steak , butter and clothes or furniture . Biology and appearance . Banthas were large , quadrupedal mammal s that averaged in height 2 to 2 . 5 meter s . An adult ' s average weight was 4 , 000 kilogram s , and they had extensive shaggy fur , which was brown or black in color . Both females and males of the species had a pair of spiraling horns that extruded from their skull and grew at a knob a year . Banthas possessed a wide mouth , bright , inquisitive eye s , and a large tail which dragged on the ground as they walked . They had wide , flat feet with four digits . Behavior . All banthas were peaceful herbivores , and lived in herds . History . Banthas were easily domesticated , and were bred on many worlds throughout the galaxy . they were widely used as mounts . Their milk , which was distinctively blue , was drunk plain as well as being used in yogurt , ice cream , and butter . Their meat was used for dried jerky , steak , and burgers , and their dung was used as a fuel . Bantha - blood fizz was a sparkling drink made from purified bantha blood . Bantha hide could be mashed with grains to make Ardees , also known as Jawa juice . Their hide was also tanned and turned into clothes or funiture . Young banthas were known as calves . The Tusken Raider s of Tatooine tamed and domesticated banthas , and they shared a close , almost mystical bond . Every boy had a male bantha and every girl had a female one . When Sand People married , their banthas also mated , and , should its rider die , their bantha usually perished shortly after . If a bantha died before its rider , its remains were placed in a large graveyard , which was treated with great respect by Tuskens and other banthas . Tuskens never harmed or ate banthas . Tuskens could also ride their banthas into battle . Banthas in the galaxy . A common sight on Tatooine , banthas could be found wild , wandering the vast expanse of the Tatooine desert , or domesticated , under the ownership of Tuskens or in cities such as Mos Espa . They shared their name with the White bantha s of Nelvaan . Banthas were the subject of several slang phrases and insults . " Bantha fodder " ( or " Bantha poodoo " in Huttese ) was a phrase used as the equivalent of " worthless " ; a person or thing deemed to have no value beyond something for a bantha to graze on , because of bantha food ' s unpleasant smell . " Not give two bantha ticks ( about something ) meant to not care in the slightest ( about something or someone ) , " Son of a bantha " was an insult , and " A wild bantha chase " meant a futile errand . In 20 BBY , an LAAT / i gunship featured customized nose art of a flying bantha dropping a pair of bombs . During the same year , the rebels of Onderon owned a hunter cart with a bantha skull . During the Imperial Era , Jedi — in — exile Obi - Wan Kenobi befriended a herd of Banthas . Two were named two Dolo and Nara , respectively . By 5 ABY , Malakili , a former beastmaster for Jabba the Hutt , wore a lucky braid of bantha teeth and fur . later in the same year , former slave Cobb Vanth had enlisted the help of a group of Tusken Raiders to drive a criminal syndicate called the Red Key Raiders away from Tatooine . The Tuskens rode into battle atop banthas . One such bantha was particularly large . The animal had an eye scarred over , fur matted with filth , and wounds with open bone s and rusted gears . Behind the scenes . The word ' bantha ' or at least other words resembling the term , first appeared in " " , where a Sith Lord was called — or had the call sign — " Banta Four " . " " , written in early 1974 , introduced " Banta One " as a Rebel fighter during the attack on the Death Star . Banthas as a creature were first mentioned in the third draft of the film : " " , dated August 1975 , as " monstrous banthas " ridden by a group of savage desert nomads called the Tusken Raiders . Their attack on Luke after he spotted the beasts of burden , as happens in , was also included . Early concept art from Ralph McQuarrie imagined banthas to be played by horses , so the earliest imaginations of banthas are considerably smaller . For banthas ' first canon appearance in " A New Hope " , They were played by Mardji , a 22 - year - old female Asian elephant . It took six crew members to make Mardji a costume that would fit her and that she would tolerate . The costume ' s base was a howdah , or elephant saddle , with added palm fronds to create the shaggy coat of a bantha . They then added a special head mask that was molded from chicken wire and then sprayed with foam to give it the correct shape . The dangling hairs on the underside of the bantha ' s mouth was made from horse hair and flexible home ventilation tubing was the base for the curving horns . While the weight of the mask for the costume was cause for concern , it was actually the shaggy tail that was made from wood and covered with thick thistles that took some getting used to for Mardji . Despite her training , Mardji ' s trunk would occasionally pop out of her costume , but the cast and crew , including George Lucas , liked Mardji too much to get impatient . To get the shot of the two banthas that Luke spots , they used an effect called optical compositing . The moan - like sounds that the banthas make were bear noises slowed down by sound designer Ben Burtt . They were given to him by documentary producer George Casey . For banthas later appearances in the 1997 " Star Wars Special Edition " , and , they were entirely computer - generated . Young banthas were known as " cubs " in the continuity of " Star Wars " Legends , which was zoologically questionable . They were changed to be " calves " in the new canon continuity . This change was made by the Lucasfilm Story Group .