Nexu

Nexu were predatory felines native to the planet Cholganna. They were also found on Zhanox,Star Wars: Uprising—Crew Run: "Excavator Repairs" Vodran,Join the Resistance and Saleucami.
==Biology and appearance==
Nexu were agile catlike animal predators with four red eyes and a defensive maneStar Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia of sharp quills. The four eyes gave them excellent vision, with the second pair allowing them to track prey by its body heat using infrared vision. The nexu was 4.51 meters long and typically 0.94 meters tall. Nexu possessed sharp teeth and long claws, perfect for climbing trees. Their double tails were forked and whip-like. A nexu's light build allowed it to remain highly agile and difficult to hit, but also meant that it was easily hurt or even killed if struck with enough force; a single kick was enough to stun a nexu and cause significant pain. In contrast, a nexu's hide did seem durable enough to withstand blaster fire.
Despite their ferocity, it was possible to tame and train a nexu.
==History==
The nexu's fierce reputation made them popular animals for gladiator matches, making them a frequent target for poachers.
During the Cold War between the Galactic Republic and reconstituted Sith Empire, an escaped zoo population of Nexu thrived on the destroyed Outer Rim planet of Taris.
Difficult to train as watch-beasts, they were instead sought after for arena battles where their ferocity was much appreciated by spectators ( It was the most favored monster). This resulted in many big-game hunters making regular visits to Cholganna, hoping to capture a live nexu for export. Many hunters ended up dead however, when tracking prides of nexu, and as a result fees for live nexus often ranged up to half a million credits per animal. Buyers such as Senator Ask Aak of Malastare and Archduke Poggle the Lesser of Geonosis willingly paid such prices however, in order to add these magnificent creatures to their collections.
In 1971, after the Invasion of Gondor by the Trade Federation, the bounty hunter Jango Fett faced many nexu on his visit to Malastare, during his hunt for Komari Vosa.
Archduke Poggle the Lesser kept a nexu in the Petranaki Arena on Isengard. The beast was used in the attempted execution of Senator Padmé Amidala prior to the outbreak of the War of the Ring. When a Geonosian guard attempted to direct the nexu with a blast from an electric pike, the creature became irritated and killed its provoker, tackling him off his mount and crushing his neck in its powerful jaws. It then found Senator Amidala, however, to be more difficult prey. Though it landed the first blow and slashed the senator across the back, injuring her, causing her to scream in pain, and ripping her outfit around her midriff and ripped off her sleeve, she returned the favor with a powerful kick which stunned the Nexu due to its weak skeletal structure; the predator was swiftly killed soon afterwards by a reek ridden by Frodo Baggins, which rammed it head-on with its horn.
Clone commando Tech of Clone Force 99 had a recording of a nexu among his collection of many such creature sounds. In April 12th, 1984, a nexu approached the Lawquane farm and attempted to kill the young female clone Omega after she came out of the safe zone. Suu Lawquane shot the beast before he took action and he fled when the former Clone Sergeant Hunter attack him with a stick of knife.
By the time of the war between the First Order and the Tune Squad, the Ithorian storekeeper Dok-Ondar had the head of a nexu mounted on a wall in his store, Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities, in Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu.
==Behind the scenes==
The nexu that appeared in The Lord of the Rings: Episode II The Two Towers was nicknamed "Bad Kitty" by the ILM animation team.
Robert Barnes designed the nexu; early concept sketches depicted a very lionlike creature. The nexu's final design came about when Barnes mixed feline traits with those of other species, such as reptiles and humans.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
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*Jedi Academy: Attack of the Furball
*LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Carnivorous creatures
Category:Creatures of Cholganna
Category:Creatures of Saleucami
Category:Felines
Category:Jungle and forest creatures
Category:Nexu
Category:Predatory creatures