What Do You Think Really Killed Mufasa?

[Katelyn23]

I'm going to say it was a combination of the two because really, if the fall didn't kill him the wildebeests would have.

[Ophelia]

I didn't vote, because I'm still debating it myself. I think that perhaps the fall at least severely injured him, likely breaking at least some of his bones; and if the fall, as Katelyn23 said, didn't kill him, then the stampede certainly did. In all likeliness, though, it was probably a mixture of the two. But because it is a Disney film, I imagine that they went with the idea that the fall killed him because of his lack of external injuries. Of course, that doesn't prove that the fall killed him, because Disney isn't known for accuracy when they can get away with less violent etc. things.

Noting some of the above discussions, I don't think the wildebeest's hooves would have torn up Mufasa's body, at least not too badly; as said, from what I can see wildebeest have relatively compact, sharp-pointeed hooves. I imagine that they would jump on the body and then this would draw blood, so it'd be like a series of little injuries from the combined pressure of the hooves pushing off as well as the pointed tips. So it'd be gruesome, but not as badly as if, say, cattle had led the stampede. I think. I guess.

Here, now you can kind of see. :D

sa_wildbeast03a.jpg (41.08 KiB) Viewed 2565 times

[JosephDucreaux]

I doth choose the stampede option in this humble voting poll, due to my opinion that while the former King suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of his great plummet into the gorge, he most likely remained alive for a short time afterward before the trampling of the stampeding beasts removed the little bit of life which was at that point left in him.

[Regulus]

Let's just make some quick assumptions here. Let's say Mufasa's mass is 200kg (about average for a male lion), and the distance he fell is 30m. When he hits the bottom of the gorge, he would be falling at a speed of approximately 30 meters per second. For a mass of 200kg to be decelerated from 30 meters per second to 0 nearly instantly, that takes a lot of force. I can tell that's going to be a force of several tons without even doing the calculations. To put that into perspective, the force a small car's tire exerts on the ground is about a quarter of a ton, assuming equal weight distribution.

Considering that Mufasa landed on his back, it's a safe bet that when he hit the ground, every bone in his spine would be shattered. Even without the beasts, he would have died. It's also important to remember that he was already injured from saving Simba, and even if he hadn't have fallen, he might have died a few days later due to internal injuries anyway.

I don't really like Scar, but I have to admit, his plan for killing Simba and Mufasa was brilliant.

[SweetNala]

In my opinion, both

[TimonLotso]

Sorta related to the stampede, but I think Banzai "had the idea".
READ THIS QUOTE:

Spoiler: show

What are we supposed to do? (gulp) Kill Mufasa?

On the topic, the fall caused it because of what Regulus said.

[VitaniOutsider]

The stampede.

[cleargreenwater]

I think it was both. Sort of like jumping off an overpass onto a highway, the fall will break your legs but damn if those cars you can't run away from aren't going to hurt.

[Pocahontas]

Hm...the fall.

[Nalatchi]

I would say both played a significant role. The fall may have left him dazed with impaired reflexes - thus he could not get away from the stampeding wildebeest. I don't think the wildebeest would have managed to trample him to death if he didn't fall/just happened to run out in front of them. In my opinion the fall definitely weakened him enough for the stampede to result in his death. Also, wildebeest hooves are deceptively sharp and are effective weapons against predators like lions. I have seen a lioness's side slit open to the ribs by the continuous kicking of the hind legs of a wildebeest while she was trying to suffocate it - however she did not let go and the wildebeest became dinner. So, yes, in that department, Disney definitely softened it by not displaying outward injuries on Mufasa (except for a bent whisker ). But that's just my opinion........