The Star Trek universe was filled with a vast array of diverse alien species, and the Mugato was one of the franchise’s strangest beasts. First seen in Star Trek: The Original Series, season 2, episode 16 “A Private Little War”, the Mugato was a one-off villain that was most memorable for its odd appearance and dangerous behavior. It would be absent from the franchise for decades before it was further fleshed out in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 2, episode 4 “Mugato, Gumato”, and its later appearance in the series showed there was more to the beasts than was originally depicted in their auspicious debut.
The mystery of the Mugato grew in the intervening years between its appearances in canon, and even apocryphal sources like novels were scarce compared to other aliens featured in TOS. Star Trek brought back the TOS monster in Lower Decks, and the creatures’ later appearance completely changed the perception of them that had been established in TOS. Though the Mugato was one of the cheesiest aliens from TOS, their return to the franchise was a chance to completely reinvent them, and properly reintegrate the species into modern Star Trek.
The Mugato Were Inhabitants Of The Planet Neural
Making their debut in TOS, season 2, episode 19, “A Private Little War”, the Mugato was shown to be a large ape-like creature with white fur and an imposing horn on its head. The episode established that Captain James Kirk had previously visited the planet in the year 2255, and that he was aware of the existence of the dangerous animals. However, when he later visited Neural, Kirk was attacked by the Mugato and suffered from its poison that nearly killed him. Kirk’s Prime Universe timeline saw him take on a range of deadly enemies during his five-year mission aboard the Enterprise, but the Mugato got the best of him.
The naming of the Mugato was somewhat complicated, and it was originally called the Gumato in the first script for the episode. According to Tor, DeForest Kelley who played Dr. McCoy couldn’t pronounce the name, and it was simplified. Though the beast was known as the Mugato, Captain Kirk actor William Shatner spent the entire episode referring to them as the Mugatu and thus both names became synonymous with the aliens. It wasn’t until Lower Decks, season 2, episode 4, “Mugato, Gumato”, that all the creatures’ disparate names became part of the canon when they were acknowledged.
The Mugato Was An Endangered Species By 2381
Well over a century later in the Star Trek timeline, the crew of the USS Cerritos had their own encounter with the Mugato, and “Mugato, Gumato” revealed more about Star Trek‘s most elusive beasts. When investigating the attacks on two scientists by the Mugato, Ensigns Boimler and Mariner discovered that Ferengi poachers had actually disturbed their natural habitat and were killing them for their horns. Along with learning more about the Mugato’s strange mating rituals, the ensigns were able to convince the poacher to make a profit by opening a nature preserve to save the endangered animals.