Balti

Last Updated: 09/08/2025

Name: Balti

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Beastite (Pinniped)

Homeworld: Unknown

Coloration: White and/or Blue

Biology: The Balti were a bipedal race of walrus-like sentients who seemingly stood at least 2 meters in height when fully grown, possessing two arms, two legs, and one head, like most humanoids. Their bodies were almost entirely covered in a thick layer of white, gray, or light blue fur. These bodies were relatively rounded, with rather thin legs but much more muscular arms. They had large, four-fingered hands, while, like their legs, their feet were on the smaller side. 

Their heads were big and round with bubbly cheeks and clusters of small, bump-like protrusions situated on the sides of their heads, potentially indicating longer hair growth. They had wide-mouths with bluish-purple lips, razor-sharp teeth and long lower canines, and a pair of large, white tusks extending down from their lips, with said lip being covered in long, mustache-like fur growths. Their noses were also large and blue-purple, with spiral-shaped nostril openings. They had beady black pupils and white sclera, situated under bushy eyebrows, though little additional hair growing from the tops of their heads.

The species had the capacity to speak Galactic Basic Standard, albeit sometimes with an unusual accent. They seemed well suited to survive in cold environment, and appeared to have relatively high natural strength, though outside of their arms, it was hard to identify defined musculature. They also seemed to have some level of natural combat prowess, though less impressive baseline intelligence from what we’ve observed. Balti young “spawned” during the birthing process, whatever that meant, celebrating yearly “Spawning Days.”

Lore: We don’t know a whole lot about the Balti at present as we’ve only ever had the opportunity to observe one member of the species across the entire history of the Star Wars franchise. We do know they had been discovered some time prior to the collapse of the Galactic Empire, and one member of their species, Bingo Mehndra, had become a relatively prolific criminal figure and smuggler. Based on his garb, he seemingly was once an official Balti militant, presumably a decorated officer, leading us to believe they may have been a relatively strong, or at the very least defensive and prideful, species. They also presumably hailed from an icy world, as Mehndra had taken residence on the planet Hoth prior to his death, though that’s about the extent of what we know.

Continuity: The Balti are currently exclusive to the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Unexplored: We still have much to explore when it comes to the Balti, including the following questions. That includes, where did the Balti originally hail from, was it a world similar to Hoth? When did the species develop sentience and what sort of creatures did they evolve from? When were they first discovered, by whom, and when were they introduced into the greater galactic landscape? Were they ever made members of governments like the Galactic Republic or other groups, potentially developing relationships with other species or organizations? Did they have a strong military, and were their uniforms an indication of a rigid and complex hierarchy, or were they more simply trying to make up for their potentially small numbers with intimidating aesthetics?

What were the Balti up to during various eras, events, or conflicts? What is the in-universe reason as to why we only ever saw one member of the species? Were they a well known species among the tens of thousands (if not more) established across the galaxy? Would (or should) there be any differences between the Balti’s Legends iteration and what we (hopefully) will someday see in Canon? And of course, what were some of their other standard worldbuilding concepts such as their history, architecture, advancements, civilizations, society, economy, exports, politics, governments, philosophies, religions, arts, diets, languages, habits, traditions, or other cultural practices?

Additional Notes: The Balti are interesting almost exclusively because they’re one of only a couple established walrus-inspired sentients currently within the Star Wars universe. I’d be very interested to see what they’d look like in different art styles or mediums, especially should they ever make the jump into Canon. But it could be a really long time before that happens, given the obscure nature of their lone appearance, debuting in the “Star Wars Tales” series, which were only partially taken seriously within the old Star Wars continuity. Still, I do feel like the more we talk about species like this, the greater their chance increases of being recognized by official creators working on future projects, so maybe, just maybe, this article will help!

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