My Lion King Forum

[quote="Squeely"]It's pretty vague as to whether this is an actual tradition in the TLKverse or whether it was just happenstance that caused it. We've seen no canon proof of anyone just up and booting their cub out once he was old enough, at least not without some ulterior motive as Zira had (and she kept Nuka). On the other hand, the lack of males does seem to imply this to be the case. Hard to say.[/quote]
Yes, if Mufasa had survived, he wouldn't have banished his adult son Simba because he couldn't have been king then. So in TLK's world male lions stay with their pride, at least in the royal family.

[quote="Simba_Lion"]
- there is no Lion Guard (just to make it clear, I don't hate TLG )
[/quote]

Well, from what I've seen and read, in cases where there are multiple pride males (which is usually the case, actually), you typically see one of these males becoming the most dominant and having the most breeding rights, while the other members of his coalition play more of a role in defending the territory (though they do typically have their own smaller families, smaller here meaning they mate with fewer females and so sire fewer cubs). Not that the dominant male doesn't do his own fighting, but there is something of a 'guard' that forms within their hierarchy, especially when the coalition contains more than two individuals.

Another difference is that real lionesses usually separate themselves from their prides to give birth, and don't typically rejoin the group until the cubs are about six to eight weeks old. In the film it seems that birthing happens at Pride Rock itself, and based on the cubs' ages during their presentation ceremonies, they are younger than the six-week time frame.

One more difference: pretty much all real lions have vertical tear-shaped marks over their eyebrows and a dorsal stripe over their foreheads and necks (though the mane obscures the stripe in males). None of the film's lions have the former feature, and Zira is the only character who has a dorsal stripe.

A similarity I will contribute is that the pelt colors aren't actually impossible in real life lions. Sure, the bright red manes are out of the question, but there are various pigment-related mutations that can cause lions to have a wide range of hues, including Mufasa and his lineage's bright yellowish-golden look, Scar and Kovu's deeper brownish color, and even the grey seen in some of the Outsiders.

Just a small note, but TLK takes Artistic License - Biology into play, since lions don't purr.

[quote="Panpardus"]One more difference: pretty much all real lions have vertical tear-shaped marks over their eyebrows and a dorsal stripe over their foreheads and necks (though the mane obscures the stripe in males). None of the film's lions have the former feature, and Zira is the only character who has a dorsal stripe.[/quote]
Yeah, plus lions usually have a black speck on their ears' rear surface. TLK lions don't have that (black ear rims?)

And I just got one more: cubs have their own spots on their legs to help them hide easier but TLK cubs don't have that, except Kion.

[quote="Simba_Lion"]TLK lions don't have that (black ear rims?)[/quote]

Come to think of it, the ear rims on TLK lions are kinda weird. I'm assuming they're supposed to be markings and not like, dirt or something since dirt wouldn't be so permanent. Which also makes it strange that they appear or disappear as the lion ages.

Far as I can tell, lions in real life don't have ear rims.