Targs in the pantry

Three targs discovered aboard the IKS Somraw


Boshar, a pet targ (2154)


A targ (2364)

Plush Targ, Fascination

Molly O'Brien's plush targ, Piggy

For the small shield, please see Targe.

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

Physiology and usesEdit

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 of the targ – including the heart – 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") Targs produced milk; targ milk could be used as an ingredient in beverages such as the Prakal II mixed drink. (TNG: "In Theory") Wistan gagh was packed in targ blood. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

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")

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") A behavior typically associated with targ was hiding in dirt. (ENT: "Marauders") The Hamar Mountains were abundant with targ. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

Toby the targ was a popular children's character and purported holonovel author of a series of children's works, published by Broht & Forrester. (VOY: "Author, Author", "Tsunkatse")

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

Antaak's possession of a targ he'd had since childhood suggests targ can live for several decades, far longer than the average lifespan of an Earth pig or boar.


According to Neelix in 2376, Sarpek the Fearless was searching for his lost targ when he unearthed the Knife of Kirom. (VOY: "Barge of the Dead")

One of the earliest encounters Humans had with targs was when, in 2151, members of the Enterprise NX-01 crew boarded the IKS Somraw in a rescue attempt. They found the carcasses of three targs, hanging up in the ship's galley, and also discovered three living targs, chained up behind a metallic door in the galley. (ENT: "Sleeping Dogs")

In the final draft script of "Sleeping Dogs", the three targ carcasses were referred to as "pig-like" and the living targs were described as "snarling boar-like animals." Though three of the latter targs appear in the episode, as many as six of them were scripted to be there.
The targs shown as being alive in "Sleeping Dogs" were depicted using a CGI model created 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](X)) One of the hanging targ corpses from the same episode was put up for auction on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. Veteran Star Trek actor Vaughn Armstrong was very impressed by the effects of the computer-generated Targs. "I thought that was just so wonderful!" he remarked. [2]

During a conflict between Klingon troops led by Captain Korok and a combined force of colonists from a deuterium mining colony and officers from Enterprise, Korok described the behavior of his opponents when they were trying to evade him and his officers as "hiding in the dirt like targ." (ENT: "Marauders")

Later that year, Enterprise captain Jonathan Archer was provided a bone joint from a targ, served on a metal plate, while enduring imprisonment on Narendra III. Archer decided, based merely on the appearance of the meat, that he disliked Klingon cuisine and Denobulan doctor Phlox concurred that the food did not look appetizing. A while after Phlox advised Archer to eat the targ meat because it seemed to be rich in protein, Archer tried it but almost immediately spat it out, moments later telling Advocate Kolos that it tasted "a little underdone." (ENT: "Judgment")

Xanthan targ

Xanthan targ

In 2153, what appeared to be a dead targ was seen hanging at its hind legs at the Xanthan floating bazaar. (ENT: "Rajiin")

This appears to be a reuse of a prop created for "Sleeping Dogs". [3]

In 2154, Andorian Commander Shran remarked that he would prefer to live with targs than collaborate with Tellarites, an example of the hatred that existed between the Tellarites and Andorians. (ENT: "United")

In the final draft script of ENT: "Affliction", a pair of targs were described as being kept as pets by Dr. Antaak. The audience was to glimpse them while the two targs were fighting with each other over a scrap of food. As evidenced by the episode's final version, though, these animals were ultimately reduced to a single targ: Boshar.

Both Martok and Worf owned pet targs at some point in their lives. (DS9: "Strange Bedfellows"; TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before") Martok once described a targ he had owned during his childhood as "a filthy, mangy beast, but in his bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" and "faithful" to its master but "ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." Martok's wife, Sirella, detested the creature. It escaped into forestland after she "accidentally" left the door of their home open while moving her belongings into the residence following their marriage. Despite Sirella 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. The creature appeared 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. As a pet, Tasha Yar made the comparison to a Terran "kitty-cat". (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before")

This "Targ" was portrayed by the Russian wild boar Emmy-Lou. For its appearance as the targ, the animal wore an original costume designed by William Ware Theiss. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., p. 37)

After Ira Graves' intellect was transferred from Data to the main computer of the USS Enterprise-D, Commander Riker claimed to Data – who had no memory of the events while Graves' mind had possessed him – that he had wrestled with a targ. Extremely puzzled by what had happened, Data wondered if he had won the contest. (TNG: "The Schizoid Man")

While residing on space station Deep Space 9, 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 unable 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, Thopok 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")

While arguing with Worf in a Cardassian prison cell, Ezri Dax told him, "The least you can do is stop acting like a self-righteous targ." (DS9: "Strange Bedfellows")

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")

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")




Background informationEdit

Dorn and Emmy-Lou

Michael Dorn on set with wild boar Emmy-Lou

The targ received its name before it was decided what type of animal it was to be. In the revised final draft script of "Where No One Has Gone Before" (dated 30 July 1987), it is noted that the form of creature the targ is was "yet to be determined," though the script goes on to say "it is LARGE." [4] One early design for a targ was submitted by Rick Sternbach. This was far different from how the creature turned out, however, bearing much more of a reptilian appearance. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12, p. 48) Rob Bowman, who directed "Where No One Has Gone Before", explained, "The Klingon Targ basically went through five different designs. Nobody wanted it to look like anything on Earth, and yet they didn't want it too ridiculous-looking either. Finally, the producers just said, 'You decide.'" (Starlog #136)

The word "targ" has been featured in several pronunciation guides in DS9 scripts. These include "Apocalypse Rising" and "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places", but both guides suggest pronouncing the word exactly as it is spelled. [5] [6] The word also appears in the pronunciation guide in the script for "Prodigal Daughter", which alternatively instructs that the word is to be pronounced "targh". [7]

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

According to the reference book Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed., p. 57), the menu at the Café des Artistes in TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris" included "Klingon Targ a la mode" among its delicacies. If true, this set a hidden precedent of targ being consumable that was followed by the introduction of both heart of targ and targ milk on TNG (in "A Matter Of Honor" and "In Theory" respectively).

According to Doug Drexler, Star Trek: Enterprise prop master Craig Binkley lamented that he was struggling to find a food stylist who counted, among their cookery skills, being as creative as to make "flaming Targ testicles too!” This was immediately before Drexler told Binkley about Dorothy Duder, who went on to serve as the series' food stylist. [8]



In Star Trek Online, some Klingon NPCs referred to as "Targ Handlers" can summon targs that will attack the player. Additionally, in Klingon missions taking place in the Ketha lowlands, wild targs can be encountered. In one Federation mission, where the player uses a holographic disguise to slip past large numbers of Klingons unnoticed, targs can see through the disguise and attack anyways. Klingon players can also purchase targ pets; however, player-owned targs cannot fight.


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