Orray

"Sturdy quadrupeds, orrays were bred and raised by Geonosians as mounts and beasts of burden."

―The Galactic Explorer's Guide^[5]

Orrays were big creatures native to the planet Geonosis. They were used by the Geonosian picadors as mounts and beasts of burden.

Biology and appearance

Being stour quadruped^[6] reptiles,^[2] orrays were natives of the deserts of Geonosis, and were distinguished by their long snouts and tails. Those orrays which were tamed by the Geonosians had their tails removed, and replaced by metal caps to cover their stumps. Standing at two meters high and three meters long, orrays^[6] were known and utilized for their strength,^[3] which along with their toughness made them ideal mounts. Orrays used their long snouts to dig into nests and used their teeth to crush eggs.^[2]

History

AggressiveNegotiations-SWL66 — Padmé Amidala rode an orray during the First Battle of Geonosis.

Many orrays were tamed and domesticated by the Geonosians, who used them for a variety of purposes, including as mounts and beasts of burden.^[6] Because of their strength, orrays were made to haul heavy loads.^[3] Orrays working in the Geonosian Petranaki Arena had their tails removed and the stumps covered by a metal cap. These orrays were used as mounts for the picadors,^[6] who used their stun poles to zap rowdy audience members,^[7] or to pull the execution carts carrying prisoners into the arena.^[6] They were equipped with saddles for Geonosian drones to ride.^[2] In the time following the fall of the New Republic, the Orray as a species were considered to be extinct.^[5]

Behind the scenes

The orray was designed for the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Early designs of what would ultimately become the orray gave the creature a more aggressive and threatening appearance,^[8] however, the design was deemed too vicious-looking for a simple pack animal^[9] and director George Lucas decided that it could work as a scaled down lizard that was to attack Obi-Wan Kenobi on Geonosis, named the massif,^[10] which itself was later transported to Tatooine.^[9] The new mount was to be a more hulking beast of burden. Multiple different designs of the creature were done by Doug Chiang, with one being more overtly reptile-like and one being insectoid on which the picadors would be standing instead of sitting. The final design was done by Michael Murnane who also made a physical sculpture of the creature. Another variation of the design by Murnane featured a black-and-white orray with spots.^[10] The orray has been described by some as a cross between an alligator and a horse.^[8]