Pateesa

Pateesa (Huttese for 'friend') was a male rancor owned by the Hutt crime lord, Jabba Desilijic Tiure after his majordomo, Bib Fortuna gave it to him as a birthday gift. The Hutt kept the pet in his palace, where he was cared for by the human keeper, Malakili.

Kept at the palace

Jabba often fed his enemies to the rancor and enjoyed watching Pateesa devour those who had upset him. A grate in the throne room floor would open up via a trigger mechanism in the Hutt's hookah pipe, dropping victims down to Pateesa's enclosure. When the Twi'lek dancer, Oola displeased the Hutt shortly before the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, he dropped her into the pit.

Demise

Shortly after Oola's death, Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker arrived at the palace with the intent of rescuing Han Solo, whom Jabba held captive. However, Jabba rejected his demands and threw Skywalker into the pit along with the unlucky Gamorrean guard, Jubnuk.

Pateesa quickly ate the guard, but Skywalker proved to be more of a challenge. The young Jedi Commander placed a large femur between Pateesa's jaws, forcing the rancor to let him go. Pateesa tried to devour the Jedi again, but Luke smashed his hand in self-defense with a rock.

Luke, out of options due to the rancor's handlers preventing him from escaping, waited until the rancor followed him into his small holding pen at the back of the pit and smashed the control panel with a skull (that had belonged to one of Pateesa's earliest victims, Bidlo Kwerve). This dropped the heavy door, piercing and crushing the beast's skull, killing him. As Pateesa died, he moaned weakly, with Malakili rushing to his aid, before breaking down in tears.

Pateesa's death greatly upset Jabba, who immediately demanded Skywalker and his companions be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon. However, Jabba's decision ultimately sealed his own fate, as he perished above the pit while the Jedi and his allies escaped.