Raich The Raich was a carnivorous beast that resided on the forest moon of Endor . The creature was known to prey on a variety of animals that inhabited the woodland of the moon . In order to capture and feast upon the forest fauna , the Raich employed a unique natural mechanism . A small spout on the top of its forehead would spurt a thick gas into the air , which helped the Raich exert control over the animals , enslaving them to his will . After being put into this trance , the animals of the forest would be led back to the Raich ' s cave , where they obediently waited their turn to be eaten . Eventually , the Raich and his methods came into conflict with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village , and they decided to put an end to the Raich ' s reign over the forest . With the use of a magic cap , the Ewoks were able to transform the Raich into a harmless tree . Many years later , the Raich was inadvertently released from his prison by Wicket Wystri Warrick and his friends . In the crisis that ensued , the creature began to once again exert control over the animals of the forest , including the pet bordok Baga . Afraid that Baga would be eaten by the Raich and that he would establish another reign of terror over the forest , Wicket and his friends were forced to devise a plan to recapture the Raich and imprison him once again . With help from the Two - headed Gonster , Wicket was able to obtain another magic cap for use on the Raich , and the Ewok children confronted the creature back at his cave . The dangerous encounter eventually saw Wicket place the cap back on the Raich ' s head , and he was transformed once again into a simple tree . Biography . Origins . The Raich was a large bipedal monster that had originated from the lush forests of Endor . Whether he was a member of a widespread species or simply an unexplained mutant is unknown , but the unfamiliarity that the native Ewoks had toward this type of creature points to the latter . The beast was a highly carnivorous being with an almost insatiable appetite , and he had developed a mechanism to attract all types of non - sentient animals into its grasp . The Raich would spurt a thick gas from an orifice on the top of its head that acted as a type of mind control device , enslaving forest animals in range to its will . He would then lead his catch back to his cave deep within the Dead Forest , where the animals would wait obediently for the time to feed the Raich ' s hunger . However , this behavior eventually came into direct conflict with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village . Animals in the Ewoks ' village began to be hypnotized by the same action and led away from the village . The Ewoks were unable to stop this action or the Raich and so sought outside help . The Two - headed Gonster of the Twin Hills — a self - declared monster catcher — was recruited to help the desperate Ewoks . The Gonster gave the Ewoks a magic cap that was designed to transform the Raich into a harmless tree . However , there was no guarantee that the Ewoks would be able to place the hat on the monster ' s head . The village ' s best warriors tracked the Raich back to its lair and were able to corner it . Following a long and fierce battle , the Ewok warriors triumphed over the Raich . A single Ewok was able to sneak up behind the Raich and place the cap onto the Raich ' s head . The creature immediately began to transform into a tree , ending the threat on the village and breaking the spell that the Raich had held over the forest animals . The tale of this conflict was recorded in the Scroll of the Raich for future Ewok generations to consider . Young Ewoks were told to stay away from the Raich ' s tree and to never mess with the magic cap that remained on the Raich ' s head . The scroll was eventually passed down to the Ewok Logray , who recounted the tale to the young Ewoks of the tribe . Rebirth . However , even with the necessary precautions , the Raich was not to remain imprisoned . Some time before the Battle of Endor , the Ewok children Wicket W . Warrick , Latara , and Teebo stumbled upon the Raich ' s tree . It just so happened that the time was near for the Shadow Night Festival , a costume party where young Ewoks would celebrate and meet each other . Wicket happened to be without a costume for the festival and decided that the cap would be perfect . Teebo tried to object to Wicket taking the cap , faintly remembering the story that was recorded in Master Logray ' s scrolls , but Wicket would have none of it , declaring that a strong warrior like himself had nothing to fear . The Raich could obviously sense that its escape was near and managed to manipulate the branches of his prison to hasten Wicket ' s ascent towards the cap . As soon as Wicket pulled the cap from the top of the tree , the ground began to quake violently . The simple tree began to morph back into the Raich as the three Ewoks watched astonished . As the Raich let out a terrifying roar of triumph , the Ewoks ran frantically from the scene . The Raich chased the Ewoks through the forest , commanding that they relinquish the cap to him . Wicket immediately complied , and the Raich broke off his chase . With the cap in hand , the Raich tore the magical artifact to pieces , confident that he could no longer be trapped . The Raich then immediately set about instituting its control over the forest creatures . Finding the Ewok Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka with her pet bordok Baga , the Raich spurted a copious amount of its gas into the air , placing Baga under his control and leading him away . The Raich then made his way to Bright Tree Village and began to work the same trick on the animals under the Ewoks ' care . The animals in the area were compelled to obey and abandoned their Ewok masters to follow the Raich back to his cave . Back at his cave , the Raich had created makeshift cages and tethers to hold the animals while he created a small fire in which to roast his captured prey . After eating at least one animal , the Raich was still hungry and prowled his cave , deciding what he should eat next . Coming upon Baga , the Raich decided that he would eat the bordok next . However , after jabbing Baga in the stomach , he decided that Baga was much too skinny , and he began to throw piles of plant food at Baga , commanding that the bordok eat and fatten up . Ewok interference . As the Raich tried to fatten up his prey and lure more animals to his lair , the Ewoks that had accidentally released him resolved to imprison the Raich once again . The group visited the Two - headed Gonster and were able to get him to create a new magic cap for them . As the Gonster worked on the cap , Wicket and Kneesaa traveled to the Dead Forest on the back of a Hoosha on a mission to keep Baga from being eaten . The plan called for Wicket to place Dream flower potion in the Raich ' s water bowl to put him asleep . With the Raich incapacitated , the Ewoks would then have an easy time of putting the cap back on his head . Luckily for the Raich , just as Wicket was about to place the potion into the bowl , he accidentally slipped and pulled over the water bowl , spilling the contents across the forest floor . The commotion caused by the spilled water alerted the Raich to the rescue mission , and he was able to take Wicket and Kneesaa captive . The Raich tied the two Ewoks up with lengths of rope and placed them inside his cave while he continued to get his fill by eating the hypnotized animals . As night fell , the Raich was still drawing animals into his clutches , but the Raich had become tired following the active events on his first day of freedom . Resolving that he would eat later , the Raich lay down on the floor of his cave and promptly went to sleep . As the Raich slumbered , Teebo and Latara arrived with the magic cap from the Gonster , but seeing that the Raich was still active , they knew that Wicket and Kneesaa ' s plan had failed . Teebo quickly disguised himself as a zomba and entered the cave . Teebo was able to find and release his captive friends , but the doorway was still blocked by the sleeping Raich . The Ewoks and Baga tried to creep quietly out of the cave , but the bordok inadvertently stepped on a stray bone lying in the Raich ' s cave . The bone snapped loudly under Baga ' s hoof , and the Raich immediately awoke . Seeing that his prey was escaping , the Raich leapt to his feet and chased after the fleeing Ewoks . Chase . Chasing the Ewoks into the forest , the Raich was forced to push aside trees as the group tried to make their getaway . The Raich tried to grasp the young Ewoks , but they were too quick for him and evaded his attempts . Furious over the turn of events , the Raich let out several more puffs of thick gas , enslaving the surrounding animals to his will , including Baga . The Raich ' s power influenced a nearby zakool , and it jumped out of the bushes to confront the Ewoks , eventually forcing Teebo and Latara to escape up a tree . The Raich also forced Baga to attack his masters , and the bordok was almost successful in goring Kneesaa . However , the Raich ' s tactics were not able to stop Wicket , and swinging on an outstretched vine , Wicket was able to place the new cap onto the Raich ' s head . However , the Ewoks had forgotten the most important part of the plan . The magic cap was only effective when sparkle seed s were on the cap . Laughing over the failure of the Ewoks plan , the Raich ripped the cap from his head and flung it aside , continuing his attempt to squash Wicket . Unfortunately for the Raich , the cap was caught in midair by Teebo , who was still trying to avoid the zakool by hiding at the top of the tree . With Latara ' s help , Teebo was able to add the sparkle seeds to the cap , making the cap finally effective against the Raich . Teebo then threw the cap back to Wicket as he continued to frantically evade the Raich . With cap in hand , Wicket was able to scamper through the Raich ' s legs , rebound off of a tree , and land on the Raich ' s back . Just as the Raich began to reach up to grab Wicket , the Ewok slammed the cap down on the monster ' s head . Letting out a cry of terror , the Raich began to transform once again into a harmless tree . Aftermath . With the Raich once again transformed , the animals returned to their normal demeanor , and the zakool left the area , allowing Teebo and Latara to leave their temporary haven . The animals that had been tethered in the Raich ' s cave were released and returned to either the forest or their Ewok caretakers . Although Wicket wanted to take a piece of the Raich ' s tree as a trophy for his Belt of Honor , Latara would have nothing of it , as the Shadow Night Festival was about to commence back at the village . Returning to the village and the rousing party , Wicket and Kneesaa happened to overhear Logray and Chief Chirpa postulating over the events of the day . Wicket wanted to tell the Chief how he had single - handedly defeated the Raich , but Kneesaa dragged him away from the conversation , telling him to forget the whole thing . The Raich remained in the middle of the Dead Forest , and though it was possible that he could be freed again , there is no record of any such occurrence . Personality and traits . The Raich was a sentient beast , but he had an incredibly simple mentality devoted only to eating and the pursuit of food . The Raich spoke in very chopped sentences , perhaps denoting deficient intelligence . However , when the Raich was able to capture two young Ewoks , he had the presence of mind and dexterity of hand to tie both of them up with lengths of rope . The Raich was not overly violent or sadistic , but he did have a mind to defend his territory . When the Ewoks invaded his cave and tried to retake some of the animals that he had called , the Raich acted instinctively , trying to squash the troublemakers . However , at no other recorded time did the Raich seek to harm sentient creatures such as the Ewoks . The Raich was easily distinguished by its large size in comparison with the Ewoks of Endor , standing more than four times their average height . Adding to his fearsome demeanor was a line of large spikes that lined the Raich ' s shoulders as well as an overly large mouth in comparison with the rest of its body . In addition to these features , the Raich had a fleshy spout that resided on the top of its head . This spout would expel a thick gas that acted as a mind control device for the non - sentient animals of the Endorian forest . Along with the spouts of gas came a low droning sound that was apparently a side - effect of spurting the gas . Behind the scenes . The Raich was created by Michael Reaves for use in the fifth episode of the second season of " " , " The Raich . " The way in which the Raich is defeated by a " magic " cap is unexplained in the episode , but it is possible that the sparkle seeds from the cap had a transforming effect on the Raich . It may also be possible that the magic cap was a that possessed transforming abilities , much the same as Charal ' s magic ring . The fact that the Raich was transformed into a tree may mean that the Raich had botanical ancestors . In the novel " " , Jos Vondar uses the expletive " son - of - a - raitch . " Since that novel was also written by Michael Reaves , it may be that Vondar is referring to the Raich of Endor and that " raitch " is a misspelling . However , this spelling was repeated in Reaves ' " Death Star " , indicating either a change of spelling or a completely different reference altogether .