Deku Baba

A Deku Baba as seen in Skyward Sword.
Deku Baba
Type	Plant
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Deku Baba is a carnivorous plant that has appeared as a recurring enemy in the The Legend of Zelda series.

Information

A Deku Baba's body usually consists of a stalk with a head attached that has a set of sharp teeth. They remain docile until potential prey draws near, at which point they will reach out to attack by snapping their jaws. Despite this danger, they can be defeated through basic methods. In their initial appearances, Deku Scrubs would leave different items depending on how they were defeated. If the Deku Baba's stalk is erect when it is slain, the stalk will harden and remain behind as a Deku Stick. Otherwise, it will only leave behind Deku Nuts, which are located at the bud of the plant. In Twilight Princess, they instead only leave behind Pumpkin Seeds. In Skyward Sword, Deku Babas could only be damaged by attacking their mouth with sword strikes, and individual Deku Babas differed in whether their mouths could open horizontally or vertically. They could also be destroyed by swallowing bombs, or ceiling Deku Babas could be snipped by the Beetle.

Deku Babas are versatile creatures and have developed into several different forms across the regions of Hyrule, Termina and New Hyrule. Their primary habitats are forests, swamps and underground grottos. They originally appeared in Ocarina of Time as basic enemies found in the Kokiri Forest and various other areas, and they also had a widespread presence in Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. A variation of the Deku Baba called the Fire Baba also appeared in Spirit Tracks and is the only known Deku Baba species of New Hyrule.

Only one Deku Baba boss has appeared thus far: the Diababa, which was the boss of the Forest Temple in Twilight Princess. This creature had three heads and a more organic appearance with what semed to be scales and a bloated stomach. This enemy guarded a Fused Shadow which possibly caused its metamorphosis. Diababa's weakness was an eye that was hidden in the tongue of its primary head's mouth.

Variations

• Baba Serpent - The Baba Serpent is an orange version of the Deku Baba with a thorned stem which is harder to kill. They usually hang from ceilings and will survive being cut from their stems, similar to the Bio Deku Baba. They then try to attack Link by clamping him with their jaws, but Link can break free with Spin Attacks. They can still be destroyed by most weapons. Baba Serpents appear in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.
• Big Deku Baba - This enemy is simply a larger version of a Deku Baba that is harder to defeat. Within Ocarina of Time, these monsters grew in Kokiri Forest during the seven years of Ganondorf's rule and also appeared at the Forest Temple, although they were also found within the Deku Tree and under the well in the Master Quest version. Big Deku Babas also appeared in Twilight Princess at the Forest Temple and the City in the Sky, and they were shown to grow near Deku Likes.
• Bio Deku Baba - The Bio Deku Baba is a bizarre aquatic version of the Deku Baba. They grow on the undersides of lilypads and notably have appendages. They can flip over the lilypad to attack Link if he steps on it. Attacking its stem will cut it loose instead of killing it. Once freed, a Bio Deku Baba will use its appendages to crawl along the bottom of the pool in an attempt to attack Link. Bio Deku Babas can be destroyed by attacking their head, usually with projectiles. It appears only in Majora's Mask.
• Fire Baba - This Deku Baba-like creature emerges from its bulb to shoot fireballs at enemies, and they will also try to bite enemies if they draw near. They can survive without their stems until their heads are destroyed. It appears in Spirit Tracks.
• Mini Baba - This is a short version of the Deku Baba without a visible stem. Its head protrudes upwards from close to the ground. It only attacks when an enemy is near and is defeated easily. They appear only in Majora's Mask, primarily at the Southern Swamp as well as in underground grottos.
• Quadro Baba - The Quadro Baba is a rare, stronger version of the Deku Baba with a goldish color. Its mouth can open both horizontally and vertically. This forces Link to think quickly about which direction to attack the Quadro Baba's mouth with.
• Shadow Baba/Shadow Baba Serpent - These are the versions of the Deku Babas and Baba Serpents that are found within the Twilight. Their behavior is virtually identical to the normal versions of the creatures.

Additionally, The Wind Waker features a nearly identical species known as the Boko Baba. It is uncertain exactly how closely the two species are intended to be related, although it is possible that Deku Babas developed into Boko Babas in the centuries following Hyrule's flooding.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Deku Babas appeared in Hyrule Warriors. The ones in this game were giant and acted as stage obstacles, emitting poison around themselves. They also retracted to avoid most attacks and could only be defeated by shooting them with bows.

Trivia

• The word "Deku" is used in the name of several creatures and items in the Zelda series, and the name primarily seems to be for things related to the forest (possibly due to the Deku Tree). In reality, the word "deku" is a Japanese word meaning "wooden doll", which most closely matches the description of the Deku Scrub.
• Shigeru Miyamoto says that they created the Deku Baba by combining a dog with the clam enemy from Super Mario 64.
• A sticker of the Deku Baba (using artwork from Ocarina of Time) appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.