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We never seem to see any beings of Yoda's species - except, of course, Yoda himself.

This leads us to the question of where the rest of the li'l critt'rs are. Yoda had to have parents, correct? So what happened to them? Was Yoda, put simply, just one of the last of a dying species?

Gallifreyan
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Peter Cassetta
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2 Answers2

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We don't know much about Yoda's species. Their homeworld remains unknown and even the species' true name is not recorded yet. So its fate is a mystery.

For reasons unknown, George Lucas maintains a strict policy of keeping the history, name, origin, and whereabouts of this species secret. This policy has resulted even in certain Star Wars publications being cancelled.
[...]
Prior to the creation of Yaddle for The Phantom Menace, Lucasfilm actively discouraged licensees from exploring Yoda's species, wishing to avoid confirming that an entire species of Yoda-like individuals even necessarily existed.

We don't know if Yoda was the last of his species, but, as far as we know, he is the last canonical member of them to die.

As for his parents and ancestry, this is our only clue:

When asked what species Yoda is, Lucas has only joked, "He's a frog." In the documentary "From Puppets to Pixels", he even joked that Yoda is "The illegitimate child of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy".

NKCampbell
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DavRob60
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    My God! It fits! Ewoks are monsterous little fuzzballs that turn into wise reptiles if they feed after midnight! Quickly! Send them some stormtroopers at 11:59 - we need more Jedi. – Jeff Jan 24 '12 at 15:57
  • @Jeff Wait ... exactly when did the Ewoks eat the stormtroopers? I must have missed that part -- or perhaps it's so graphic that they put it on a hidden part in the DVD's bonus features and only you were able to feed -- erm -- find it. ;) – Peter Cassetta Jan 29 '12 at 14:30
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    @PeterDC Remember, Han was set to be the main course in a banquet in Threepio's honor. I guess stormtroopers taste like smugglers, when the plastic wrapping is removed. – DavRob60 Jan 29 '12 at 14:52
  • FWIW and while not related to the question directly, SWTOR (lower level Canon) introduces two new (but historically older) of this species: Oteg and Vandar Tokare. Still, as indicated elsewhere, no mention of the actual race/racial origin in any of the dialog/story provided. – Josh Apr 05 '12 at 20:12
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    But he sounds more like Grover – Chad Aug 14 '12 at 13:58
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    He's just a really old gremlin ^^ http://67.media.tumblr.com/929e9afb05753b8f767c0108f38664ba/tumblr_nwtrdt7pYw1uipsbeo1_500.jpg – max pnj Jul 22 '16 at 14:10
  • OMG after midnight ewoks..... – King of NES Mar 06 '19 at 22:14
  • Yoda is no longer the last; this needs to be updated. – StephenS Feb 26 '22 at 21:12
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As for was Yoda the last of a dying species - NO

Limiting to the movies itself there was Yaddle, the other Jedi on the Jedi council, from the same species as Yoda

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as for being the last one to die I am not very sure when Yaddle died so I'll go with the obvious one - Grogu, who we first meet in Episode 1 of The Mandalorian (2019) which is set way after Yoda died.

Further going into Legends in Yoda's species we have Vandar Tokare(died before Yoda) who was a powerful master who too sat on the Jedi council, and then there were -

A fourth Jedi Master of said species, Oteg, served during the Cold War. A fifth, lesser-known Jedi of this species, Jedi Knight Minch, served the Jedi Order around 700 BBY. Although little is known about him, he proved himself quite able in the ways of the Force when he single-handedly defeated a Dark Jedi Master in combat. In contrast to the other four masters, who had all shown exceptional calmness and self-control at all times, Minch had a slightly more fiery temperament and was known to have once lost his cool when subjected to Dun Möch.

So basically we have met individuals from Yoda's species other than Yoda himself.

As for Yoda's backstory the other answer addresses it.

Wookipedia for Yoda's Species

shanu
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  • Vandar Tokare is, of course, a purely Legends character from one of the video games; https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Vandar_Tokare., Minch is also Legends as was Oteg. – Valorum Mar 05 '23 at 18:05
  • @Valorum, would removing them make the answer better?? – shanu Mar 05 '23 at 18:07
  • Personally I tend to split Star Wars answers into Canon and Legends. I'd start with what we know in Canon (e.g. Yaddle died before Yoda, Yoda died but at least one member of his species, Grogu, still lives into the New Republic Era) and what we know in Legends (e.g. that there were at least three other extant members of his species; Minch, Oteg and Vandar Tokare) – Valorum Mar 05 '23 at 18:10
  • It's also worth pointing out that Vandar and Oteg lived thousands of years before Yoda, and Vandar at least is long dead by Yoda's time. – Cadence Mar 05 '23 at 18:15
  • I have edited your inputs into my answer, but if it can be made any better, you are welcome to do the honours – shanu Mar 05 '23 at 18:20
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    @shanu - Much improved. Have an upvote. Also, don't forget to put an @ before a user's name if you want your comment to show up in their inbox. – Valorum Mar 05 '23 at 18:27
  • @Valorum, the upvote is much appreciated – shanu Mar 05 '23 at 18:29