| Biba | |
|---|---|
| |
| Physical information | |
| Gender |
Male |
| Species | |
| Skin color |
Blue and red |
| Hair color |
Black, bluish-gray, brown, and white |
| Eye color |
Black |
| Distinguishing features |
Overweight |
| Biographical information | |
| Status |
Living |
| Relationship information | |
| Family |
Rafiki (cousin) |
| Allies | |
| “ | ” |
Biba is a male mandrill. He is the cousin of Rafiki.
When Biba visited Rafiki in the Pride Lands, he inadvertently caused many accidents around the kingdom. In an attempt to save the other animals from himself, Biba went into isolation. However, during a rainstorm, Biba saved Simba and Nala by alerting Mufasa and Rafiki to the cubs' peril. This prompted Rafiki to apologize to Biba for treating him unkindly in the past.
Biography[]
Early life[]
| “ | Rafiki: Oh, no! Cousin Biba! Biba: Hey, Rafiki! It's been such a long time! How are you, you old sack of fleas?
|
” |
Biba used to be a frequent playmate of his cousin Rafiki.[1]
Visit to the Pride Lands[]
| “ | Simba: Are you gonna sit here all day? Biba: Well...at least here I can't cause any more problems!
|
” |
Mufasa, Rafiki, and Simba stumbled upon a strange mandrill who had wandered into the Pride Lands. Rafiki recognized his cousin and vice versa, Rafiki doing so with annoyance and Biba with pleasure and excitement. As he embraced his cousin, Biba accidentally struck Mufasa on the head with his staff, and Rafiki reprimanded Biba for hitting the Lion King. Biba quickly apologized and, after Mufasa accepted his apology, informed the king that he was going to be staying in the Pride Lands for a while.
Biba accidentally strikes Mufasa with his staff.
After he was treated to food and shelter, Biba proclaimed to Simba and his friend Nala that he wanted to stay in the Pride Lands forever. Overhearing this, Rafiki complained to Mufasa that they would never be rid of Biba. Mufasa, however, thought Biba was nice, but Rafiki warned him that Biba was extremely clumsy, which more often than not got him into trouble. As he was about to explain Biba's antics to Mufasa, Rafiki saw that Biba was crying out in pain because he was sitting on top of an anthill. Rafiki quickly knocked Biba into a river and chided him for his carelessness.
After another disaster with a falling tree branch, Biba secluded himself on top of a rock overlooking the river, hoping that his distance from the other animals would prevent him from causing any more accidents. Simba soon joined the mandrill on his lonely perch and told him that he could see the whole savanna from such a spot. Inspired, Biba proclaimed that he wanted to do something for it.
At that moment, Mufasa came running toward Biba's perch beside the river. Upon being asked what was wrong, the king explained that all the Pride Landers wanted to drink from the river, but were unable to do so because of the crocodiles in the water. No sooner had he said this when Biba fell off his rock right on top of the king. Amidst the crocodiles' laughter, Rafiki was ashamed of his cousin's behavior.
Biba helps rescue Simba and Nala.
A bit later, a rainstorm came to the Pride Lands while Simba and Nala were out playing. Meanwhile, Biba, Mufasa, Rafiki, and Sarabi were safely inside Pride Rock. As the storm went underway, Rafiki accused Biba of having done a rain dance to draw the storm forth. At the same moment, Sarabi noticed that Simba and Nala were missing. Afraid that the cubs would be caught in a flood or a landslide, Mufasa left Pride Rock to find them. Before going to join the king, Rafiki told Biba to try and stop the rain while he and the king searched for the cubs.
Biba commented bitterly that he might just make it rain harder if he tried. Set on finding the cubs himself, he went to the last place he had seen them. Upon reaching a series of cliffs, he heard a cry for help and saw the cubs dangling in the ravine, clinging to a tree branch. He had nothing to draw them up the cliff with, so he began to tap on a log with two sticks. The search party heard his alarm call and came rushing to the rescue. Together, Biba, Mufasa, Rafiki, and Sarabi made a chain over the side of the cliff and drew the cubs onto higher ground.
After returning to Pride Rock, Rafiki thanked Biba for saving the cubs' lives and apologized to him for all the mean things he had said. He then gave Biba his staff back and jokingly warned him not to do any more rain dances.[1]
Physical appearance[]
| “ |
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” |
According to Simba, Biba is almost identical to his cousin, Rafiki. Both have the standard mandrill markings, such as dark blue eye rims, lighter blue cheeks, and a bright red nose. However, Biba is considerably heavier than his cousin as well as taller and larger. His fur is a dark grayish-blue, while his hands are black and brown. His chest is pale gray. Like Rafiki, he has a snowy white mane, although his lacks a prominent goatee.[1]
Personality and traits[]
| “ | Mufasa: Oh, he seems quite nice! Rafiki: That is not the problem! Biba means well, but he is terribly clumsy! There's always trouble with him!
|
” |
Biba possesses an excitable and childlike nature.
Biba is clumsy and unintelligent. Like Rafiki, he is known for being somewhat shamanistic, as he carries around a staff and is highly skilled with rain dances. Also like his cousin, he strives to please and desires the best in others, although this often leads to self-degradation and shame for the disasters that follow his clumsiness.
Despite his goofy nature, Biba is perceptive and can identify when a situation is dire. His bravery is tested several times, with each situation resulting in Biba taking matters into his own hands in order to save those in need. When praised, Biba's insecurities diminish, and he rejoices in being able to offer help. The lowliness of his spirit often depends on how helpful he is to those around him.
Biba is typically saddened by his own clumsy nature, although he does have a positive outlook on life and attempts to twist his accidents into helpful gestures. One such example is when Rafiki berated his cousin for hanging off a dead tree branch, and Biba reminded him that he had gotten rid of an unsteady branch in doing so.[1]
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- The first part of Biba's name ("bi") is an abbreviation for "Ms." or "Mrs." in Swahili.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Revealed in The Baboon Problem. Written by Per Hedman and pencilled by Daniel Pérez. Published in December 2000.
- ↑ Online Swahili - English Dictionary. African Languages. Retrieved on September 1, 2020.