The fambaa is a huge scaly amphibian native to the swamps of Naboo. Due to their mostly docile nature, the native Gungans have been able to domesticate and raise fambaa for millennia and use them as beasts of burden and war mounts. Their substantial strength can carry heavy loads; in particular, the Gungan military has trained fambaa to carry large shield generators on their backs or pull artillery into position.

Wild fambaa often impose self-limitations on their herd sizes, usually numbering no more than twelve members. Xeno-herpetologists believe that this practice is an evolutionary trait that was borne to help maintain an ecological balance with their environment, as the fambaa could literally eat swaths of vegetation bare. Where the canopy of the swamp exceeds the natural reach of the creatures, they obtain sustenance by using their body weight to push over large trees so that the leaves, berries, or other fruits are easily accessible. This generally has a devastating effect on the trees, as the force of being pushed over often uproots them and they die.

Fambaa, being amphibians, lay eggs in pools of water such as lakes. The young, like all other amphibians, are born with gills and live the first part of their lives in the water. It is during this time that the fambaa population is drastically thinned out by predators, such as gooba fish. Those who survive to adolescence develop a hard, scaly hide and the gills soon disappear and the creatures take their place on the land.

It is said that Gungans spend vast amounts of resources to provide enough food to keep the best of their domesticated herds in air-filled underwater stables. On a daily basis, tons of vegetation must be provided for these creatures, while those on the surface who are part of the Gungan's herds are put to pasture in remote, sacred places within the swamp.