Duke Meerkat

The Duke Meerkat is a male meerkat. He is the leader of a colony of meerkats who live in a kingdom within or close by the jungle. He is the father of Tatiana.
When Timon abandoned his guard post, a cobra infiltrated the colony and kidnapped Tatiana. In retaliation, the Duke Meerkat banished Timon from the colony. However, when Timon and his new friend Pumbaa saved Tatiana and returned her safely to the colony, the Duke Meerkat offered Timon riches, a title, and his daughter's hand in marriage. Timon ultimately refused, as he wished to stay with Pumbaa.
==Biography==
===Early life===
At some point in his life, the Duke Meerkat became the leader of a colony of meerkats who lived within or close by the jungle. He had a daughter, Tatiana.
===Timon's banishment===
One day, the Duke Meerkat left the colony, leaving Tatiana alone in the castle, with Fred in charge. However, Fred went to a grocery store to get a snack, then convinced Timon, who was guarding the back gate, that with the Duke Meerkat gone, it was his chance to go on a date with the princess.
After thinking about what Fred had said, Timon went along with the suggestion. He placed a mop as a dummy to make it seem like the back gate was being guarded so that he could speak with Tatiana. However, while Timon prepared for his date, a cobra passed through the back gate (as it was not convinced by the dummy trick) to invade the colony and kidnap Tatiana.
The meerkat guards realized that Timon had left his post and tried to capture him. Timon managed to escape the guards but got caught by the Duke Meerkat. Having heard about the loss of his daughter, the Duke Meerkat put Timon on trial and sentenced him to a life in banishment. As Timon left the colony, he saw Fred guarding the back gate, indicating that the Duke Meerkat had demoted him for failing to protect the castle.
After Timon rescued Tatiana from the cobra with the help of his new friend Pumbaa, the Duke Meerkat dropped the charges against him and rewarded him by giving him a key to the city as well as some riches. Tatiana then offered Timon her hand in marriage.
With Timon as the Duke Meerkat's son-in-law, he tried to convince the Duke Meerkat to declare Pumbaa an official member of the meerkat society. But the Duke Meerkat told him that only meerkats were allowed to live in the colony; therefore, warthogs were not welcome. He then gave Timon a choice between Tatiana, a title, and riches, and Pumbaa.
Timon chose to stay with Pumbaa, and the Duke Meerkat exiled them from the colony. When Pumbaa asked Timon if he was sure that he wanted to give up all the things the Duke Meerkat had offered him, Timon suggested that they not worry about it, which made them come up with their problem-free philosophy: "Hakuna Matata."
==Physical appearance==
The Duke Meerkat is of a moderate height and skinny. He has orange-tinged brown fur, with a pink underbelly and dark stripes on his back. He has a red nose and black eyes. He wears a brown and green hat, a silver nose ring, a golden necklace, and golden arm cuffs.
==Personality and traits==
As the leader of his colony, the Duke Meerkat is very strict about the rules. He banishes or demotes anyone who fails to perform their meerkat duty and will not accept a non-meerkat animal as an official member of the colony, as he refused to allow Pumbaa to live with them. On other occasions, if a meerkat does something heroic, such as rescuing his daughter Tatiana from a predator like Timon did with the cobra, the Duke Meerkat rewards them by offering them power, riches, and love.
The Duke Meerkat is shown to be very caring toward his daughter. He banished Timon from the colony for leaving his guard post, which caused a cobra to invade the colony and kidnap Tatiana. When Timon and Pumbaa returned to the colony with Tatiana, the Duke Meerkat was overjoyed to see her still alive, and the two shared a hug.
==Appearances==
* The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
** "Once Upon a Timon"
* Once Upon a Timon
==Trivia==
* The Duke Meerkat was voiced by Jeff Bennett.
** Bennett also voiced Zazu in the "The Morning Report" sequence in The Lion King and in The Lion Guard as well as the beast, Buzz, the castaway, Cisco Pig's gang, Count Down, El Toro, the fox, the foxhound, Heimlich, the meerkat angel, Mel, Mr. Vam Pirebat, the native chief, Sigmund, the three natives, and Toucan Dan in The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Leaders
Category:The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa characters
Category:Males
Category:Meerkats