Cu-pa

The cu-pa was a bipedal, theropod-like species of reptomammal native to the Outer Rim worlds of Nam Chorios and Tatooine. They were distant cousins of the tauntaun, another species of omnivorous reptomammals indigenous to the icy planet of Hoth. However, unlike the tauntaun, the cu-pa had a more brightly colored hide, and were not nearly as intelligent. However, they were very passive, and could be trained by beast masters to act as mounts. The cu-pa was mostly comparable in size to the tauntaun, but a subspecies known as the wasteland cu-pa could grow to much larger sizes. Bioengineers were also known to use the DNA of the cu-pa to incubate mutated variants known as co-henpa.
==Biology and appearance==
The species of bipedal, theropod-like reptomammals named cu-pa were native to the Outer Rim worlds of Nam Chorios and Tatooine. The vertebrate species had brightly colored bristly red hides in the wild, but when domesticated, their hides could come in a variety of different hues, including shades of yellow, green and blue. The cu-pa were distant cousins of the tauntaun, another species of omnivorous reptomammals indigenous to the icy planet of Hoth.Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back However, the cu-pa was not nearly intelligent as their tauntaun counterparts.Planet of Twilight Regardless, the cu-pa's passivity allowed for beast masters to train cu-pa's as domesticated mounts. Subspecies of the cu-pa included the considerably larger wasteland cu-pa, also native to Tatooine.
Cu-pa meat was comestible. The cookbook Essential Cooking Skills detailed how to best cook that meat.
==History==
During the time following the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, miniature replicas of the cu-pa were available as house decorations. Bioengineers were also successful in using the DNA of the cu-pa to incubate mutated variants known as co-henpa. These mutated co-henpa exhibited a more scrawny, reptilian-like appearance. In 1 ABY, a female Twi'lek performer rode a pink and blue furred cu-pa during the grand opening of the Aerie Casino on Naboo. The Human xenobiologist Dusque Mistflier looked on in fascination as the pale-blueskinned Twi'lek tightly wrapped her lekku around the cu-pa's neck. Mistflier wondered if this allowed the performer to direct the animal's movement. Reserving her conclusions for a later date, the xenobiologist recorded her observations until she had more information.
==Behind the scenes==
The cu-pa first appeared in Barbara Hambly's Planet of Twilight, released in May of 1997, and later as a creature in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to its closure on December 15, 2011.
In addition to the wasteland cu-pa, there also existed other named types of cu-pa in Galaxies, including the red cu-pa and wonderous cu-pa. However, both of these types of cu-pa were virtually identical in size and appearance to a typical cu-pa, so it is not clear if they constituted a distinct type of subspecies, or if they were merely descriptive names for different types of the same creature. While the cu-pa was first shown on Nam Chorios in both Planet of Twilight and The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons,The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons and is stated to be native to Nam Chorios in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine states that the cu-pa was native to the planet Tatooine.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
*Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine
*
*Planet of Twilight 
*Planet of Twilight' abridged audiobook
*Fate of the Jedi: Conviction 
==Sources==
*The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
*Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
*Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Quick Reference Guide
*Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed: Prima Official Game Guide
*Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience: Prima Official Game Guide
*Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Guide: Prima Official Game Guide
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
==External links==
*
*
*
Category:Creatures of Nam Chorios
Category:Creatures of Tatooine
Category:Creatures of unspecified diet
Category:Domesticated creatures
Category:Food creatures
Category:Reptomammals
Category:Species of undefined sentience