Kukalaka was Julian Bashir's stuffed teddy bear and his "first patient".

Kukalaka was sort of a soft puppet, stuffed with wadded cotton. When Bashir was a boy, he took him everywhere he went. After a few years, he started to get a little threadbare, until one day his leg tore open and his insides spilled out and made a mess. His mother, Amsha, was all set to throw him out, but Bashir wouldn't have it.

In 2346, at the tender age of five, Bashir performed his first surgery. He re-stuffed Kukalaka, and stitched his leg closed. From then on, Bashir did whatever it took to keep Kukalaka together. Over time, Kukalaka would appear to have nearly every square inch of his body either sewn, stitched or patched, Bashir said jokingly. He hung on to Kukalaka well into his adulthood. In 2372, the bear was kept on a shelf in Bashir's room. (DS9: "The Quickening")

In 2373, while Bashir was dating Leeta, he allowed her to borrow Kukalaka when Leeta mentioned she thought Kukalaka was cute. When Leeta failed to return him, after their break-up, Bashir enlisted Nog and Jake Sisko to get him back in trade for five liters of anaerobic metabolites suspended in a hydrosaline solution. (DS9: "In the Cards")

Kukalaka remained with Bashir, adorning a desk in his quarters. (DS9: "Inquisition")

External linkEdit

• Kukalaka at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works