Targ

Overview

Targs are porcine animals associated with Qo'noS, commonly depicted with coarse bodies and spikes along the back. Klingons keep domesticated animals as companions and livestock, while wild targs have a much more threatening reputation. Worf's remembered childhood pet provides a personal connection, and the live animals and carcasses aboard the Somraw give husbandry a practical shipboard context.

Ceremonial and ordinary food uses place the animal inside Klingon culture without making every targ a ceremonial monster. A 2026 ILM retrospective calls the different-looking 1984 puppet a dog-like Klingon targ; this is retained as production terminology rather than a decisive explanation of its relationship to later porcine depictions. Neither form is evidence that real pigs or dogs possess Klingon biology, and named pets remain within the species profile.

First appearances & development

The selected 1987 Next Generation episode makes Worf's remembered animal part of an extraordinary thought-manifestation encounter. Enterprise's 2002 episode supplies living and butchered animals in an earlier fictional century. Publication dates and in-world chronology therefore differ, and neither episode alone should be treated as the complete domestication history of Qo'noS.

Canon & continuity

The official cultural feature supports pet, wild-animal and culinary roles. Memory Alpha's species article indexes anatomy and the exact television appearances, while the 2026 ILM account supplies its film-puppet terminology. The differences between those source purposes are explicit: retrospective design labels do not automatically settle a disputed fictional animal classification.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Where No One Has Gone Before — Star Trek: The Next Generation

   Diane Duane and Michael Reaves · 1987

   Worf's remembered pet targ appears while thoughts become physically manifest.

2. 02

   Sleeping Dogs — Star Trek: Enterprise

   Fred Dekker · 2002

   A Klingon ship's galley contains live and butchered targs, demonstrating husbandry and food use.

3. 03

   One Trek Mind — 10 Best Bits of Klingon Culture

   Jordan Hoffman · 2013

   Official 20 July cultural feature distinguishes domesticated targs from wild animals and mentions ceremonial food use.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. OfficialTarg — official franchise guideResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. ReferenceTarg — Memory Alpha, with screen citationsResearch access: 2026-10-05
3. Primary workILM 2026 retrospective — qualified film-puppet terminologyResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.