Targ

Molly O'Brien's plush targ, Piggy

The targ was a herding animal native to Qo'noS.

Information

Targs were comparable in form to Terran boars but with spikes on their backs. They were usually dark brown, although some were spotted. Targs were generally regarded as "vicious and destructive" animals. Klingons kept domesticated targs as pets and livestock, and hunted wild targs for sport. The meat and heart of the targ was eaten, while their shoulder fat was used to make var'Hama candles. (TNG: "A Matter Of Honor"; DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited"; VOY: "Day of Honor")

One of the earliest encounters Humans had with targs was when members of the Enterprise NX-01 boarded the IKS Somraw in a rescue attempt.(ENT: "Sleeping Dogs")

The targ for this episode was created as a CGI model at Foundation Imaging. Robert Bonchune recalled the creation of the shot, "The Targs were a big deal, even though they were in a throwaway shot. Everything beyond that door Hoshi opens was CG. John Teska had to build the pig; Dan was in on that too. They sat there getting this thing to look right. Then it was a big deal getting it approved and putting three of them in there, and attaching them to the chains, building the whole room and putting straw on the floor."(Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 9, p.48; [1])

Klingon wedding ceremonies sometimes involved the ritual sacrifice of a targ. (DS9: "A Time to Stand")

As part of the Day of Honor ceremony, the participant had to eat from the heart of a sanctified targ. (VOY: "Day of Honor")

The phrase "targ manure" was a slang term to describe a lie, or a made-up story (analogous to the Human expletive "bullshit"). This term was used by Boothby. (VOY: "In the Flesh")

The Hamar Mountains were abundant with targ. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

Targ herds could be a collision hazard on Qo'noS; Klingon ground assault vehicles used targ scoops to clear the animals away from their path. (VOY: "Elogium")

Neelix recounted that Sarpek the Fearless was searching for his lost targ when he unearthed the Knife of Kirom. (VOY: "Barge of the Dead")

Both Martok and Worf owned pet targs at some point in their lives. (DS9: "Strange Bedfellows"; TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before") One targ that Martok had owned since childhood escaped after his wife, Sirella, "accidentally" left the door of their home open while moving her belongings into the residence following their marriage. Despite being responsible for the loss of the creature, Martok later told Benjamin Sisko that he would "not trade Sirella for all the targs on Qo'nos". (DS9: "Strange Bedfellows")

In 2364, an illusory replica of Worf's targ was created from his memories of the animal on board the USS Enterprise-D when the ship traveled a billion light years away from our galaxy and entered the outer rim of the universe, where the physical and mental world are integrated. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before")

This "Targ" was portrayed by the Russian wild boar Emmy-Lou.

One of Molly O'Brien's toys, "Piggy", was a plush targ. (DS9: "Fascination")

In early 2373, Odo told Benjamin Sisko that Sisko would need someone who could turn into Gowron's pet targ to help infiltrate Ty'Gokor, something Odo was not able to do, after Odo had lost his shapeshifting ability several weeks earlier. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising", "Broken Link")

Quark once sold a herd of targs to an unknown party at some time in or prior to 2369. In 2372, he speculated that Odo had trashed quarters in the form of a targ. In 2373, he believed that by throwing away his bat'leth and kneeling before Thopok, he would "be humiliated and slink away like a scalded targ". (DS9: "The Storyteller", "Crossfire", "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places")

Q told Captain Kathryn Janeway that he could have mated with a Klingon targ for the purpose of creating a child, but that he instead chose her. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")

B'Elanna Torres told Harry Kim that he looked like a speckled targ after he acquired facial spots due to a Taresian retrovirus. (VOY: "Favorite Son")

Wistan gagh was packed in targ blood. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

After Worf was appointed Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire following the Dominion War, Martok was delighted as he had an ambassador who would go targ hunting with him. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

Toby the targ was a popular children's character and purported holonovel author of a series of children's works, published by Broht & Forrester.

In 2376, Tom Paris told Seven of Nine that B'Elanna Torres would often take a stuffed "Toby the targ" toy with her if she was leaving the starship USS Voyager for longer than a day. (VOY: "Tsunkatse")

During a musical recital by Harry Kim, The Doctor commented to B'Elanna Torres that Kim's saxophone playing reminded him of a wounded targ. A month later, in 2378, the EMH confessed this act to Kim and apologized for his indelicate behavior. (VOY: "Renaissance Man")

The animal meat which is eaten by Harrad-Sar in ENT: "Bound" may have been a skinned targ. The meat can be seen on Harrad-Sar's ship, during the scene in which three Orion slave girls first appear and subsequently continue to dance.
It is also possible that the Klingon monster dog seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the Jackal mastiffs seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country were different breeds of targs based on similar appearances and similarity to canine breeds.

One of the hanging targs found on the IKS Somraw was put up for auction on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction.

Appendices

Appearances

TNG:
- "Where No One Has Gone Before"
ENT:
- "Sleeping Dogs"
- "Exile"
- "Affliction"

References

ENT:
- "Judgment"
- "United"
Star Trek films:
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
TNG:
- "The Schizoid Man"
- "A Matter Of Honor"
DS9:
- "Penumbra"
- "Strange Bedfellows"
VOY:
- "Elogium"
- "The Q and the Grey"
- "Favorite Son"
- "Day of Honor"
- "The Killing Game"
- "In the Flesh"
- "Author, Author"

Apocrypha

According to The Klingon Dictionary by Marc Okrand, the Klingon name for this animal is "targh".