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| Location : Hoth WAMPA ICE CAVE "The lair was a foul place. I could smell the blood and entrails in the snow" - Luke Skywalker, Essential Guide to Alien Species |
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The wampa ice cave is the foul, bloody lair of the wampa ice creatures of Hoth. These large, furry predators use their caves to raise their young and feed upon their prey. Wampas do not fashion their own caves; rather, they occupy existing caverns or tauntaun-dug caves, often evicting the previous owners with force. Once settled in their new lair, wampas sometimes extend the cave to accommodate their family. Though wampas are seen as solitary beasts, many live in small, family-based groups, and thus require a nest for their young. These nests, located deep within a wampa cave, are lined with guard fur shed by nesting wampas, though it is unknown whether this constitutes intelligent behaviour or simply animal instinct. Nevertheless, nesting wampas are very protective of their young; wampa mothers will even attack their mates should they come between mother and child. Due to the sparse population of Hoth, wampas are forced to cover large hunting grounds, though their range is drastically limited during Hoth's freezing nights. Wampas do not always kill prey out on the ice plains - a swipe of their huge paw is enough to send any prey unconscious, allowing the wampa to drag it back to its lair. Here, the wampa will either devour it outright, or keep it for later while it returns outside to hunt. To ensure live prey does not escape, wampas use the natural features of their ice caves to immobilize their meals. Large creatures, such as tauntauns, are often impaled by the ankles on ice spikes jutting from the cave floor, while smaller prey is frozen to the cavern ceiling. Wampas use their hot breath to melt the ice around the victim's legs, which are moistened by the creature's saliva. Wampa saliva also acts as an anesthetic, keeping the prey comatose until feeding time. Wampas are messy eaters, and often leave bones, entrails and other gory leftovers strewn throughout their caves. Even the nests are littered with gory trophies. Wampas have little need for a tidy cave, however, since they rarely stay in one place for any length of time. In order to ensure frequent meals, wampas must follow the migrating tauntaun herds. The presence of young wampas in a cave is the only thing that will keep a wampa in the same lair. Luke Skywalker witnessed the gory details of a wampa ice cave in person during a patrol mission on Hoth. He was struck by a wampa, and both he and his tauntaun mount were dragged to the ice creature's cave. There, Luke was suspended on the ceiling while the wampa tore into his dead tauntaun. Luke would undoubtedly suffered the same fate had he not managed to retrieve his lightsabre, using it first to cut himself free of the ice, and then to slice off the approaching wampa's arm. Skywalker fled the wampa cave, and recounted his ordeal following the evacuation of Hoth. Luke's experiences have proved invaluable to naturalists seeking to learn more about the wampas of Hoth. Source: The Empire Strikes Back, Essential Guide to Alien Species, Official Star Wars Fact File _____________________________________________________________________________ -- Multimedia -- Image Gallery: wampa ice cave |
| DATA Type: ice cave Location: Hoth Inhabitants: wampa ice creature RELATED PAGES - Hoth - wampa ice creature - Luke Skywalker |
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