The bone-chilling cold is not the only danger that awaits a traveller on the Hoth plains. Despite standing over two meters in height, the wampa ice creature is nonetheless a stealthy predator. Its white fur is the perfect camouflage, and the howling Hoth winds mask its approach until it is too late. With a crushing blow from its clawed hand, a wampa is strong enough to snap the neck of even a hardy tauntaun.

Wampas live in caves carved from the Hoth ice. It is here that the ice creature drags its prey. It suspends its victims from the cave ceiling until it is ready to feast.

The Rebels were plagued with wampa attacks when they erected their hidden base on Hoth. Commander Luke Skywalker was savagely attacked by a wampa while on scouting duty. Skywalker narrowly escaped becoming a meal and dying in a Hoth blizzard. Despite bacta treatment administered by the skilled medical droid 2-1B, Luke still bears scars from that encounter.

Just prior to the evacuation of the Hoth base, the Rebels had to deal with repeated wampa attacks. The first indication that was something amiss was the discovery of a dead tauntaun, its neck mysteriously broken. Attracted to the sound of astromech droids, several wampas penetrated deeper and deeper into the Alliance caverns. The Rebels were able to capture at least one wampa in a pen before having to abandon Echo Base altogether.

Wampas never hunt when hungry, yet they prefer live meat whenever possible. As such, the creatures try keep their prey alive within their icy caves. A wampa uses its hot breath and saliva to suspend prey against the ice cave's ceiling.

The wampa physiology is so well adapted at conserving heat that the creatures do not show up on most life-form sensors. This is how they have escaped detection for so long. Wampas have recently become the favoured target of galactic big game hunters hungering for a challenge. These adventurous ones travel to the remote Hoth system in hopes of capturing an impressive wampa trophy.

The creatures are said to possess a long memory. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker returned to Hoth nine years after his run-in with a wampa. In a mind-boggling example of coincidence, he ran into the same wampa whose arm he severed years ago. According to Skywalker, the creature remembered him and his lightsaber.