Rakk

Rakk are flying creatures native to Pandora. They do not have beaks. Instead, they have a flat, fleshy head ending with a pointed snout, with a brightly colored, bony plate on the top, and hooked, rasping barbs lining a soft, slit-like mouth on the bottom. Rakk do not have grasping claws or lower limbs, and instead have a set of curved, razor-sharp talons upon a flexible tail that they use to adhere to rocky surfaces.

Background
Rakk appear to be highly social creatures with a task-based hierarchy that includes scouts, hive defenders, food processing, and perhaps even long-term food storage not unlike honeypot ants on Earth. They are known to be vocal, howling or screeching to rally a flock when a target presents itself or proves itself to be a threat. They also emit a screech at the moment of their slashing attack.

General Strategy
Carnivorous and known to kill living prey, Rakk can swoop down and use their tail to lacerate their targets without losing speed, letting them quickly gain altitude and set up another attack run. Like all creatures, badass variants have elemental properties and will often try to bomb enemies with ranged elemental attacks rather than employ the usual diving slash.

Rakk have a large target profile and no critical spot to exploit, however they are extremely fragile and any one weapon will kill an individual Rakk in short order.

Shotguns are highly effective against flocks of Rakk, filling the air with waves of metal capable of shredding entire sections of an attack run with each shot. Second on the list are Support Machine Guns which can rake a flock with a heavy rain of slugs, knocking one beast out of the sky after the other. Rocket Launchers can be used to vaporize entire flights of Rakk if they head straight towards the rocket user. Anarchy Submachine Guns are also effective, combining the spread-out mayhem caused by Shotguns with the steady stream of machine guns. Repeater Pistols, Revolvers, and Sniper Rifles are not recommended as they either don't hit hard enough per-shot, or don't fire fast enough to wipe out enough Rakk before they strike.

Badass Rakk are best taken down at very long range and never in an Outrunner. Use the vehicle to flee the immediate area and set up a corridor of fire to pummel this Badass enemy out of the sky. Combat Rifles or very accurate "Hunter" or "Death" shotguns with extended magazines or fast reload speeds are well suited to do this.

Players would do well to be wary of Rakk patrolling the sky - if there is movement in the upper corners of the screen it's usually a good idea to investigate. If an attacking flock of Rakk isn't promptly detected it can be deadly at lower levels, and devastating at higher levels.

Rakk

 * Playthrough 2: Relentless Rakk
 * Playthrough 2.5: Vindictive Rakk

The common Rakk (or just Rakk) is dark brown with bright orange markings on its head, tail, and wings. The most regularly encountered type, the common Rakk can normally be seen circling in the sky waiting for something to blunder into the territory of its flock. Sometimes they can also be seen hanging upside down, preening itself with its rasp-covered mouth.

Rakk do not drop anything when they die.

Feeder Rakk

 * Playthrough 2: Forager Rakk
 * Playthrough 2.5: Cultivator Rakk

Feeder Rakk are bluish white with slightly darker blue splotch-stripes running down the length of their fat lower bodies and tails. Like common Rakk they are most often encountered either circling in the sky, or hanging upside down.

Feeder Rakk often drop cash and ammo when they die, and sometimes they'll drop Orb Shields. For this reason, it's best to wait before swatting down Feeder Rakk so their items can be easily picked up. Rarely they can come in three's in a Rakk Swarm.

Bloated Rakk

 * Playthrough 2: Distended Rakk
 * Playthrough 2.5: Tumescent Rakk

Bloated Rakk are easily identified by their large size and brightly acidic-green color and lemon-yellow markings. Bloated Rakk are rarely encountered out and in the open, making their appearance usually when the hive is threatened or the flock is called.

Bloated Rakk, like Feeder Rakk, will drop items when they die. Almost without fail they will give up large amounts of cash, while occasionally they will drop orb shields and Weapons, and very rarely they will drop Class Mods. They should be prioritized even more carefully than Feeder Rakk because of the loot they can drop.

Defender Rakk

 * Playthrough 2: Experienced Defender Rakk
 * Playthrough 2.5: Hardened Defender Rakk

Specific variation, encountered only once in the whole game: during the boss-fight with Rakk Hive. Apart from being grey-coloured, they are quite similar to their "common" brethren. Defenders are also very weak, despite their latter name. Even on P2.5 they reach maximum 42 level (while most of the enemies are on 49, 50 or above).

Kamikaze Rakk

 * Playthrough 2: Experienced Kamikaze Rakk
 * Playthrough 2.5: Hardened Kamikaze Rakk

Like the aforementioned type, they could be seen only released from the profound guts of the awakened Rakk Hive. What makes them even more unique is their suicidal attack: they simply explode upon contact with the victim. Kamikaze Rakk have dark, green bodies and lurid, orange wings. They're also the smallest kind.

Badass elemental Rakk
Badass elemental Rakk come in the usual array of fire, shock, and corrosive and like all Badass enemies, these creatures have a high amount of health. Unlike regular varieties of Rakk, Badass Rakk will swoop down near their prey, and begin bombardment with an elemental projectile instead of using the normal dive and slash attack pattern. The power of these elemental attacks combined with the high amount of health and supreme manueverability afforded these flying monstrosities make them extremely dangerous, especially the fire and shock types.

Killing Badass Rakk may or may not result in a like elemental Artifact being dropped, but rarely will anything else fall out of the sky.

There is a guaranteed spawning point for Badass Rakk in the Rust Commons West.

Variants:
 * Badass Corrosive Rakk
 * Badass Fire Rakk
 * Badass Shock Rakk

Rakk-Trap
Rakk-Trap are Rakk that have been assimilated by the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap to fight on the side of the Robot Revolution. Rakk-Trap act exactly the same as their normal counterparts however their appearance will differ somewhat. Rakk-Trap wear the "claptrapped" headgear of an assimilated creature, have their organic wing membrane replaced by a patched material in the manner of other claptrapped creatures, have visibly pulsing lines that appear similar to fiber optic lines, and have a Claptrap-type red reticle embedded on their heads. Rakk-Trap appear only in Claptrap's New Robot Revolution.

Trivia

 * Rakk have a symbiotic relationship with Rakk Hives. They roost within the porous hide of the Rakk Hive, while the Rakk Hive gains protection from other predators, even when hibernating.
 * The name "Rakk" is possibly a reference to the giant mythical hunting bird, the Roc.