Bakari

[kovu42]

Name: Bakari
Species: Panthera leo (aka. lion)
Gender: Male

Personality: Bakari studies the world around him as much as he can since all of his experiences bolster him for the future. He is very calm under fire and tends to get lost in thought frequently. All of his experiences have aged him quite a lot and although he looks like an elder male, he has only just reached full adult hood, but he doesn’t mind telling his stories. He doesn’t think much of those who are too hyper or jumpy as he likes to just stay calm and relaxed and he has developed a bit of an attitude against the hyperactive (fairly short tempered with them). Bakari doesn’t like to take orders at all and he is known to be quite stubborn at times, and he never takes an insult seriously; the only way to damage his pride is to force him to take orders from a lioness. He deosn't trust easily anymore and he severly distrusts lions who are snobbish or have a "god prospect." Aside from that all, he is very loyal to those who become his friends and his determination can be as helpful as his stubbornness is obstructive.

Description: He's a large built and very muscular lion with the usual yellow/tan fur coat. His mane is large and covers his chest and most of his back, and it has a red tinge near the head and as the mane flows down his back it turns into a deep red, almost black. His eyes are a bright yellow. He has two long scars traveling his muzzle and his left ear is battle torn making him slightly hard of hearing on that side. He also has scars of countless battles across his back. His tail is long and has a large tuft of fur at the end which has the same light red tint as the beginning of his mane. The same color fur shows up in tufts on his forelegs (like where the elbows would be).

History: Bakari used to be part of a large pride that had a large territory. His pride had about 20 females and 3 males to watch over the terrain and everything seemed to be looking good until things took a drastic turn for the worse. When he was still a young male, a period of drought weakened the pride and one of it’s males was severely injured in a fight with rival males. Quickly after, disease spread through the pride and the rival males took advantage of the weakness. The other strong male was killed fighting and since Bakari could only flee from the overwhelming force of the two rogue males, he could only guess what would have happened to the other injured male. He had managed to avoid being infected somehow and the only thing left for him to do was try and find other lions, even if it was just a rogue who would travel with him.
He managed to find another rogue who didn’t drive him off and they journeyed for a short time together when his companion attacked by a croc when getting a drink. Bakari continued on as he grew into a full adult lion. His experiences toughened him up and began to teach him a lot about the world around him and through it all became very analytical and explorative.

For his voice think Ian McKellen (voice of Iorek Byrnison in the Golden Compass)

[Moka]

Very nice profile. Sounds like he's seen his fair share of battles! I like his history, its very creative.

[Zeke]

Might it be ok if I add Bakari in a future sketch? I'm out of ideas myself.

[kovu42]

Oh sure! It's nice that someone cares enough about my character to do something like that.

[Zeke]

Cool, a new idea.

[Zeke]

I have a question. Does Bakari have a more outlandish look or a pridelander look? I need to know for reference to the shape of his face, body, and nose. Also, do you have a desired shape for the mane?

[kovu42]

I had always imagioned a more bulky, stronger build to Bakari, a bit like Mufasa, with a more squared off nose and overall large features. I'd guess more like a pridelander.

His mane is large and bushy with a bit of shaggyness to it.

[Zeke]

ok thanks that should do it

[Moka]

Cool lion picture

[kovu42]

Found it online, I always kinda liked it. It was part of my inspiration for Bakari.