Animals of "The Lion King" Movie

The setting for the movie is the African savannas (grasslands) which teem with herbivores, such as zebras, giraffes, gazelles and wildebeest. As all these animals feed on grass, it leads to specialized feeding patterns:

• zebras eat the tall grass
• wildebeest eat the short grass
• gazelles eat the new growth left behind

There always grass for the animals to eat because the grass grows from the roots even as it is being nibbled.

In the movie, King Mufasa, the ruler of Pride Rock teaches Simba about the "Circle of Life" - the delicate balance of nature which bonds all animals together - a complex web of interrelationships - grass is eaten by herbivores; herbivores are eaten by carnivores; herbivores and carnivores excrete and their droppings return to the soil as nutrients to help more grass to grow; herbivores and carnivores reproduce; herbivores and carnivores die and are eaten by scavengers; plants, herbivores and carnivores die and decay in the ground and nutrients are returned to the soil.





  1. Mufasa, Scar and Simba are males while Sarabi and Nala are females (lionesses). Adult male lions are _______________ females.

    1. same size as

    2. smaller than

    3. bigger than


  2. Lionesses lack _______________.

    1. long whiskers

    2. a shaggy mane

    3. aggressiveness


  3. Lions are the only cats who live in large, social groups called _______________.

    1. herds

    2. mobs

    3. prides

    4. rookeries


  4. After the death of Mufasa, Scar assumes the throne and becomes the new King. He forces Sarabi, Nala and the other lionesses to hunt. In real life, _______________ work together to hunt for the whole group.

    1. lions

    2. lionesses

    3. lions and lionesses


  5. Lions in the wild eat mainly _______________.

    1. small rodents and reptiles

    2. large herbivores such as zebra, giraffe and wildebeest

    3. domestic livestock

    4. people


  6. Rafiki, a wise mandrill presented the newborn Simba to the other animals. The male mandrill is especially colorful with blue cheeks, red flat nose and a rump that is red and blue. Mandrills have large cheek pouches inside their mouths that they can _______________.

    1. blow up to scare away enemies

    2. store food to eat at a later time

    3. store saliva for spitting at enemies


  7. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed are spotted hyenas. Spotted hyenas are known for _______________.

    1. their cry which sounds like hysterical human laughter

    2. feeding on remains of a kill left behind by lions

    3. their sense of humor


  8. Hyenas hunt _______________.

    1. singly

    2. in packs

    3. with lions


  9. Mufasa is killed in a wildebeest stampede. During the dry season, wildebeest migrate in large herds in search of _______________.

    1. food and water

    2. mates for breeding

    3. cooler climate


  10. Vultures were looking to eat exhausted Simba. Vultures eat mainly _______________.

    1. lions

    2. rotting flesh of dead animals

    3. meerkats and warthogs


  11. Pumbaa is a warthog with its large protruding tusks. A warthog is a _______________.

    1. wild pig

    2. small rhino

    3. fat mongoose

    4. baboon


  12. In the movie, Pumbaa the warthog was eating insects. In reality, a warthog's diet consists mainly of _______________.

    1. all sorts of insects

    2. hornbills and vultures

    3. grasses, roots, berries and birds' eggs

    4. people


  13. Simba is befriended by Timon (a meerkat) and Pumbaa (a warthog). In reality, meerkats don't hang out with warthogs but with other meerkats. Meerkats live in groups called _______________.

    1. herds

    2. mobs

    3. prides

    4. rookeries


Learning from the Movies © Alan & Hui Meng