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If you’ve ever been captivated by the rich landscapes and iconic characters of Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, you’ll be thrilled to know that many of the animals from the beloved film have real-life counterparts you can meet at the Cincinnati Zoo!

Since Disney’s The Lion King was first released in theaters 30 years ago, we have lost half of Africa’s lions. Only 20,000 remain from a population of 200,000 a century ago. It takes many different approaches, which differ by regions, habitats, and local communities to help protect lions. By protecting lions, we are also protecting the health and well-being of the savanna, wildlife and communities who live alongside them.

More About Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and Cincinnati Zoo Lion Conservation Efforts:

From the mighty lions that reign as kings of the savanna to the playful meerkats and graceful zebras, these incredible creatures bring the magic of Africa to life. In this blog, we’ll explore the African animals at the zoo that mirror the movie’s characters and their habitats, giving you a chance to connect with the natural world like never before. Ready to embark on a journey from Pride Rock to the zoo’s vibrant African habitats?

Lion

Lions John (14) and Imani (13) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Lions are among the most fascinating predators in the animal kingdom. With a powerful bite force of 650 PSI, sharp teeth, and strong jaws, they are highly effective hunters capable of taking down the largest prey on the African savanna. A lioness can sprint up to 33 mph, while both males and females rely on stealth, aided by soft paw pads, to stalk their prey. Though lions aren’t skilled climbers, they can leap impressive distances of up to 39 feet vertically and 36 feet horizontally.

Unlike other cats, lions are social and live in prides. Male lions protect their territory—up to 100 square miles—by roaring (which can be heard 5 miles away) and scent-marking. Their distinctive manes reveal their health and hormone levels, with darker manes indicating higher testosterone. Male lions sleep up to 20 hours daily, while females typically rest 15–18 hours.

Sadly, lions have vanished from 92% of their historic range, and fewer than 20,000 remain in the wild. The Cincinnati Zoo actively supports lion conservation through over a 15-year partnership with SORALO, which blends traditional practices and modern technology to promote coexistence between communities and wildlife. With efforts like these, there’s hope for restoring a healthy lion population.

Hornbill

Yellow-billed hornbill Satchmo (14) calls the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Yellow-billed hornbills are one of many hornbill species, all characterized by their thick, curved beaks. This particular hornbill features a yellow beak topped with a casque, an overlay made of keratin—the same durable protein found in human hair and nails. Their sizable bill is perfectly suited for a diverse diet, allowing them to feast on fruits, seeds, insects, and small animals found in the savannas and woodlands of eastern Africa. To handle the weight of their impressive beak, these birds have a strong neck for support!

Hippo

Hippos Fiona (7), Fritz (2), Tucker (21) and Bibi (25) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Hippos are fascinating semi-aquatic mammals with unique adaptations and behaviors. Spending most of their day in water or mud to stay cool, they emerge at night to graze on grass. Despite their aquatic lifestyle, hippos can’t swim or float; instead, they push off the bottom to propel themselves and surface for air. Their eyes, ears, and nostrils sit high on their heads, allowing them to see, hear, and breathe while mostly submerged. Their ears even act as valves, closing to prevent water from entering when submerged.

Giraffe

Giraffes Tessa (18), Zoey (8), Zeke (3) and Fennessy (5) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The Masai giraffe, the largest giraffe subspecies, can grow to an impressive height of 16-19 feet, making it the tallest land animal. Known for their jagged coat patterns, each giraffe has a unique pattern similar to human fingerprints. Despite their long six-foot necks, giraffes have only seven neck bones, the same number as most mammals. Their prehensile tongues, measuring 18-20 inches, are dark purple to prevent sunburn and coated with thick saliva to protect against the thorns of acacia trees, their favorite food. Giraffes consume up to 75 pounds of food daily, aided by their excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell, and their ability to see in color.

Meerkat

Meerkats Bert (10), Louis (10), Zevon (10) and Mark (10) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Meerkats are omnivorous animals that feed on beetles, caterpillars, spiders, scorpions, small reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit, and plants. Despite their adorable appearance, meerkats are wildlife and do not make good pets. Instead, you can observe their fascinating behavior at your local zoo.

Living in burrows, meerkats spend their nights underground and emerge in the early morning to warm up by standing on their hind legs and exposing their bellies to the sun. A patch of darker skin on their bodies acts like a solar panel to absorb heat and keep them warm. Known as a mob, a group of meerkats relies on their excellent sense of smell to locate food, showcasing their resourcefulness and adaptability.

Zebra

Zebras Vern (17), Earl (14) and Stewart (14) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The plains zebra lives in social family groups that include one male, several females and their offspring. Groups of bachelor males often form as well. Many groups may come together to graze, sleep or travel in large herds. When a lion or other predator approaches, zebras alert the herd with alarm calls. As distinctive as a fingerprint, every zebra has a unique pattern of stripes.

Kudu

Kudu Hobbes (11), Maizy (10 months), Maple (2 months), Sabi (3) and Fjorda (9) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The lesser kudu is a large, striped antelope that stays vigilant for predators like lions and painted dogs. Using its large ears to detect danger, it barks and flees with its tail raised when threatened.

Adult males, called bulls, are typically solitary and distinguished by their impressive spiraled horns, which they use in shoving matches during fights. In contrast, females live in small groups, highlighting the differing social behaviors of this striking antelope species.

Cheetah

Cheetahs Savanna (12), Kris (5), Rozi (2), Donni (8), Cathryn (8), Willow (8), Zola (1 month) and Lulu (1 month) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Cheetahs, the fastest land mammals, can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour over short distances, aided by their sleek bodies, flexible backbones, long legs, muscular tails, and semi-retractable claws that act like running spikes. Their oversized nasal passages help them breathe during sprints but limit space for large teeth, making their teeth smaller than those of other big cats.

Bat-Eared Fox

Bat-eared fox Kal (8 months) calls the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The bat-eared fox is a small, African fox known for its enormous ears, which can grow to over 5 inches tall! They can rotate their cup-shaped ears independently to pinpoint the exact location of prey. Not only can they hear well, they can actually hear insects UNDERGROUND!

Black Rhino

Black rhinos Seyia (15) and Ajani Joe (4) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Black rhinos, capable of running up to 34 mph, are large, critically endangered animals with three toes on each foot. They have a hooked upper lip for grasping and pulling leaves from branches. Adult black rhinos weigh between 1,760 and 3,080 pounds, and their calves grow rapidly, gaining about 100 pounds per month in their first year. A black rhino calf’s front horn becomes visible between one and two months, with the back horn appearing around three months. By one year, the front horn may show a slight curve, while the back horn remains flat.

Mud plays a key role in protecting rhino skin from sun exposure and insects. Due to their poor eyesight, black rhinos rely heavily on their sense of smell and hearing. Tragically, while rhino horns are meant for protection, they are often the very cause of their demise due to poaching.

Red River Hog

Red river hog Sir Francis Bacon (16) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The red river hog, named for its reddish coat and habit of wallowing in rivers and streams, is a determined forager. Sir Francis Bacon, a red river hog, is smart, tough, and fast. He uses his strong snout and sharp tusks to bulldoze through soil and leaf litter in search of food, including roots, bulbs, plants, and small animals. These hogs spend most of their time searching for food, relying on their keen sense of touch and smell to dig up their meals.

Serval

Servals Cleo (17) and Jambo (17) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The serval, known for its exceptional jumping ability, can leap more than 9 feet straight up to catch birds in midair. With the longest legs relative to its body of any cat, the serval stands tall to scan over tall grasses. Its large ears can rotate to precisely locate faint rustling sounds in the grass. Thanks to its extra-long neck and legs, the serval is sometimes called the “giraffe cat.” Servals can also jump 8-10 feet vertically, covering up to five times the length of their bodies in a single leap. Servals can hear a rat or mouse a football field length away!

Porcupine

Porcupine Violet (1) calls the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Contrary to popular belief, porcupines cannot shoot their spines and quills. Instead, their spines can embed in an intruder’s flesh if contact is made. Porcupines grow new spines and quills to replace any that are lost. Quills are made of keratin, just like our nails and hair. When threatened, the Cape porcupine expands its spines and quills to appear larger. Baby porcupines are called porcupettes. Porcupines can swim and are social. A group of them is called a prickle!

Rüppell’s Vulture

Rüppell’s griffon vultures Bubba (11) and El Nino (27) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The Rüppell’s griffon vulture, native to Africa, holds the record as the highest-flying bird in the world, with confirmed flights reaching 37,000 feet. This critically endangered species plays a vital role in Africa’s ecology by scavenging carrion, which helps keep ecosystems healthy and slows the spread of disease. With a powerful beak capable of breaking and crunching bones, the vulture plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of nature. Despite their negative reputation, vultures are essential to the environment.

Okapi

Okapi Mokonzi (1) and Kuvua (16) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The okapi, the only living relative of the giraffe, uses its long, prehensile tongue to pluck leaves and buds from trees, much like its relative. With white-and-black striped hindquarters and front legs, the okapi may resemble a zebra but is distinct in its connection to giraffes. Its foot-long tongue also helps it clean its eyelids and ears. Okapis are endangered and almost impossible to observe in the wild, as they are found only in the DRC. Each okapi has a unique stripe pattern, similar to human fingerprints, which helps calves identify and follow their mothers. Their gestation period lasts 15 months, and they are solitary animals, only coming together for mating or when a mother is with her calf. One way to help protect them is by recycling old cell phones, as they contain coltan, a mineral mined within the okapi’s habitat. The okapi was not discovered until 1901 due to its elusive nature.

Ostrich

Ostrich Pam (16) and Myrtle (8) call the Cincinnati Zoo home!

The ostrich is the world’s largest and heaviest living bird and is unique for having two toes on each foot, unlike other birds that have three or four. While it cannot fly, the ostrich can run at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour to escape predators. Its eye, nearly 2 inches across, is the largest of any land animal. Additionally, the ostrich lays the largest eggs in the world, with each egg being equivalent to two dozen chicken eggs.

Aardwolf

Aardwolf Chipo (14) calls the Cincinnati Zoo home!

Aardvark? Zebra? Wolf? Believe it or not, the aardwolf is actually a relative of the hyena. A solitary and nocturnal member of the hyena family, the aardwolf specializes in feeding on termites. Rather than digging into a termite nest, the aardwolf simply licks up the insects with its long tongue and chomps down on them with its peg-like molars. A single aardwolf can consume 200,000 termites in one night.

Come explore the Cincinnati Zoo to discover the fascinating world of African animals! And don’t forget to keep an eye out for some of these incredible creatures making appearances in Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King!