Stohl Stohls were furred , serpentine luxury pets from the planet of Ichtor 8 . The rich wrapped themselves with live stohl , and they could be trained to bite their masters ' assailants . They were naturally poisonous , but domesticated stohls had their poison removed . Appearance and Biology . In its natural habitat , the stohl was a hideaway , living in crevasses and feeding on small rodent - like smarl s . Its natural curiosity led the stohl from its den when new and interesting beings approached . Stohls averaged about a meter to a meter and a half in length ; they traveled through the snow by undulating on their lightly - furred bellies . Their heavier top coats protected them from cold weather . Despite their propensity for thin caves and fissures , stohls did not dig their tunnels themselves ; their pointed fangs were made for biting , not burrowing . They fed on small warm - blooded creatures when available , and attacked larger prey when their normal food was scarce . It is possible that settlers in some places disturbed or killed the stohls ' natural prey , forcing the creatures to attack the settlers themselves . Stohls fed in the wild by injecting a virulent poison through their fangs , then feasting . Some small animals were too tiny even to bite ; these were swallowed whole and digested later . Trained stohls often had their poison sacs removed ; wearing a poisonous stohl was not only illegal , but stupid as well . An attack - trained stohl hissed loudly when its mistress was threatened , then uncoiled and reared up ; beings who did not get the hint were then bitten repeatedly until either the target fled or the owner called a halt . Some especially vicious trainers taught their pets to wrap around a target , biting until he either fell unconscious or died . Stohls encountered in the wilderness rarely entrapped their prey ; if a large target resisted , the stohl fled . Stohl eyes had transparent layered membranes to protect them against driving snow or crushed ice ; they allowed the animals to see with relative clarity even in their dim burrows , magnifying whatever light was present . Their fangs were sharp and strong , with a small poison reservoir running down the inside of each large fang . The heavy mane of fur behind the creature ' s head allowed it to push through loose snow , while the more sparsely - furred body followed . The lower jaw hung on a drop - hinge , and the gullet expanded when necessary , allowing the stohl to swallow and digest large bits of meat . An effective digestive system broke down all components of the stohl ' s meal , fusing all indigestible bones and skin into a large ball , to be choked up later . Seasoned stohl - hunters could detect their quarry ' s lair by the lumps found outside or around the fissure ; they could even tell how old the stohl may be and when it last fed . Training a captured stohl was a long process but not especially difficult . Unless the stohl had been abused in some way , it quickly bonded with whoever fed it by hand . Such bonds were hard to transfer , though a skilled trainer could do so . Stohls often enjoyed playing with shiny objects ( much to their owners ' amusement ) . Stohls purred contentedly when happy or well - fed and spit when annoyed . Their fur was luxuriously soft , and was prized by some black - market buyers . History . According to accounts dating from the planet ' s first settling , dozens of stohls emerged from hiding to examine the settlers ' crafts and dwellings . The creatures ' initial reaction to spacefaring visitors was friendly ; numerous accounts described stohls wrapping themselves around an explorer ' s arm and purring , or driving away the plague - ridden illort s ( now be - lieved extinct ) that threatened the first colonies with a contagious virus . Shantee Ree , a famous holovid star owned a specially - trained attack stohl named Needla , which bit an overzealous fan during an autograph session . The media portrayed the attack as an assault . Shantee responded that the attack stohl had been trained to protect her . The result of the media coverage was that attack stohls were hunted for fun and sport , until Shantee Ree launched a campaign to save the species . With a tremendous publicity push and numerous personal appearances , Shantee won the support of animal activists , politicians and fans and the stohl was saved from extinction . Following Shantee ' s iead , many celebrities demanded stohls of their own . The market for live stohls - and stohl trainers boomed . Within less than a standard year , stohl killing went from common to criminal . However , within five years , stohls learned to fear Human contact and stohls became hard to find .