The Lion King taught a generation of children that every creature, great or small, is important in the circle of life. What the movie failed to adequately address was just how horrifying that circle can actually be when you’re a lion trying to survive in the African Savanna. While the film touches on the perilous struggle between life and death, it entirely glossing over the bits about pride-wide infanticide and incestuous marriages. Fortunately, I have too much time on my hands and a proclivity for ruining beloved Disney films with cold, hard, zoological facts. Be prepared to learn all the disappointing and horrible things that go down in the Pride Lands on a daily basis. For starters…
1. There is nothing rare or special about the Pride Lands
The average pride only contains around 13 lions. The world’s lion population sits at an estimated 30,000 and spans more than 60 countries in Africa. That is a hell of a lot of ground for Simba’s well-intentioned yet meager crew to cover.
The Pride Lands may be extremely photogenic and well-branded, but it is hardly the only lion-occupied territory in Africa, and likely not the only one that has the bravado to call itself a kingdom. It becomes all the more gut-wrenching when you realize Simba’s life or death struggle is happening to thousands of cubs across the continent.
Source: https://lionalert.org/page/social-organization-and-behaviour
2. Mufasa has mated with every lioness in his pride
As the dominant male, Mufasa gets his pick of any female in heat. Since pride leaders usually take on multiple partners to ensure a plentiful batch of offspring, it’s safe to conclude that an alpha male like Mufasa has taken it upon himself to mate with the pride’s entire female contingent. Not such a stretch, considering lions like to get it on. As for Scar, he has to wait until Mufasa has stops for a breather before he can even hope to make a move on one of the ladies.
Pictured: Mufasa, making the rounds.
Source: http://animals.mom.me/lions-multiple-female-mates-11392.html
3. Simba and Nala are related
With only two fully grown male lions in the pride, the identity of Nala’s father is less of a mystery and more of a disturbing revelation. We know that it can only be Mufasa or Scar, and either scenario is equally unsettling. Either Mufasa is the father and the Simba-Nala courtship becomes a sibling romance that’s more uncomfortable to watch than the Luke and Leia kiss, or Scar is Nala’s father, in which case Simba is feeling the love tonight with his cousin.
Notice the eye colour? I think we have our answer.
Source: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Nala’s_Father
4. Mufasa was grooming Simba for exile
When a male cub comes of age, he undergoes a heart-warming right of passage: being permanently exiled from the pride by his father. It’s nothing personal; it is a time-honoured tradition of lion culture that is meant to create better genetic diversity within the pride by minimizing the risk of inbreeding. Mufasa would have been conditioning young Simba to embrace a life of nomadic wandering and bloody conquest, which is perhaps why he is so vague when referring to the exact kingdom his son would inherit. The movie suggests that Mufasa is grooming his son to become the next ruler of the Pride Lands, even though Mufasa doesn’t explicitly state so. Instead, describes Simba’s eventual kingdom as, “everything the light touches.” What he’s really saying is, “you can rule any pride you like, provided you kill the king in charge.”
“Go nuts, kid.”
Source: http://www.livescience.com/41572-male-lion-survival.html
5. Mufasa and Scar overthrew this pride and killed its cubs
If an ostracized young lion is lucky, we will have some brothers or cousins to keep him company on the perilous quest for survival. The group will travel together to not only increase their own chances of survival, but the also improve their odds of conquering a new pride. A successful takeover will result in the death of the alpha male, along with any offspring he has fathered. Mufasa and Scar would have come in power this way, soaked in the blood of their rivals. Simba and Nala represent the first generation of offspring under the newly established regime.
Source: http://www.livescience.com/41572-male-lion-survival.html
6. Simba will be usurped by a younger lion or bail on the Pride Lands altogether
An alpha male like Simba will enjoy a comfortable, albeit fleeting rule atop Pride Rock. Some lions ditch the pride altogether after a few years, hoping to test their luck with a new batch of females. This allows roaming males to move in and begin their violent takeover. However that doesn’t seem like Simba’s style, so his reign will likely come to an end at the paws of a virile young male as he dies defending his territory.
We all know Kovu is biding his time.
Source: http://www.thebigcats.com/lion/lion_social.htm
7. Hyenas didn’t ravage the Pride Lands, drought did
When Nala brings Simba back to the Pride Lands, they are greeted by a vast wasteland full of charred vegetation and all around bad vibes, leaving us to believe the land rotted away under Scar’s terrible reign. While Nala should know better than to blame Scar and the hyenas, Simba grew up in a lush jungle and has no idea that this barren landscape is actually the result of a seasonal drought.
Here is the dramatic scene from the movie.
And here is a snapshot of your typical savanna drought.
See, the African Savanna experiences the dry season every year between October and February, a time in which brush fires are quite common. The Pride Land’s herds, having lost a substantial food source, moved on to greener pastures. If Scar and the hyenas are guilty of anything, it would be not covering more ground to track down their prey.
Source: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/grasslands.php
8. Scar ended thousands of years of oppression, segregation and bloodshed…and Simba brought it back
Yes, Scar was an asshole who plotted to murder his brother and nephew. Yes, his quest for the throne was borne of greed and ambition. We know Scar was a shitty lion, but we usually fail to consider the monumental achievement he made as King: ending the blood war between lions and hyenas and ushering in a new era of peace. Archaeologists suggest the two species have been engaged in conflict for over 12,000 years, and Mufasa wasn’t looking to put that feud to rest any time soon. Scar, however, saw the advantages of ending the violence with hyenas because it would mean the increased health and proliferation of both species. The less time both species spend fighting over territory means more free time to raise their young and find food.
Source: http://animals.mom.me/relationship-between-lions-hyenas-3692.html
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