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During the Disney+ series, Ahsoka, part of the plot involves Ahsoka utilizing what she (and other characters later) calls Star Whales.

These Star Whales are able to access hyperspace and transport Ahsoka and her ship to another galaxy to pursue the antagonist. Once there the group of Star Whales are besieged and make a hasty exit again through hyperspace.

I don't recall an explanation being given in the Ahsoka series about how the whales are able to access hyperspace, but I know that this series continues plot lines from Star Wars: Rebels animated series (which I have not seen).

I suspect that the ability has something to do with the Force, but is there any explanation given within show canon or from other sources (interviews, encyclopedias, novels, etc.)?

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    I just think it is an evolutionary trait they acquired over thousands/millions of years to be able to migrate like birds.
    – Brad
    Commented Aug 9 at 13:14
  • Ooh. Someone should make an answer referencing the many other examples of "giant natural inscrutable higher beings that can travel relativistically through the universe without obvious machinery or limitations" in genre writing. Too lazy to look but there must be a TV Tropes entry for this.
    – user180810
    Commented Aug 9 at 15:38
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    WARNING. DO NOT READ. tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpaceWhale (And I forgot about Titan A.E. rays.)
    – user180810
    Commented Aug 9 at 16:09

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Per the Solo: A Star Wars Story - The Official Guide factbook, Purrgills (AKA "Space Whales") are able to access hyperspace through a natural process of metabolism of a gas called Clouzon-36.

OLD AND NEW DISCOVERIES

Refined coaxium is a far cry from the natural form of the substance. Ancient spacefarers discovered coaxium in the organs of purrgil—huge space-traveling creatures. The purrgil inhale space gases containing traces of the gas Clouzon-36, which they metabolize into a hypermatter fuel. This enables them to jump into hyperspace.

Purrgills are the species that introduced early humans to hyperspatial travel, appearing seemingly at random in various colonised star system.

Purrgil are massive whale-like creatures that live in the vacuum of deep space. But what makes them especially unique is their natural ability to access hyperspace, as seen in Star Wars Rebels. Purrgil introduced sentients of the galaxy to hyperspace and inspired them to create hyperdrives in order to travel to the alternate dimension that these amazing creatures could inexplicably reach.

In Star Wars Rebels when Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger first discovers the majestic purrgil, he connects with one and sees the swirl of hyperspace in its eye. What Ezra is seeing in this moment, and what ships see as they travel through the iconic spiral of blues in hyperspace, is called a simu-tunnel. A simu-tunnel is what hyperspace look like when you’re safely contained in a hyperdrive-produced pocket of realspace while traveling through hyperspace. Purrgil create them naturally.

StarWars.com - Star Wars Inside Intel: Hyperspace

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    I shudder to imagine what evolutionary pressures would make hyperspace travel a necessary trait. Is their main predator Galactus?
    – Milo P
    Commented Aug 9 at 16:40
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    @MiloP - There's always a bigger fish....
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 9 at 16:50
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    Space Sharks, of course. (And now I want to reread Glen Cook's Starfishers trilogy)
    – Shawn
    Commented Aug 9 at 19:46
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    @clvrmnky Orcas are pretty small whales. In fact they predate on larger whales themselves.
    – OrangeDog
    Commented Aug 10 at 20:53
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    @Skooba - As usual, I've tried to see if midi-chlorians were involved somehow, or if I can use the Top Trumps game as a source. Alas, in both cases the answer is no.
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 10 at 22:16

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