Zito

Zito is a male elephant. He is a member of Ma Tembo's herd.
When the Army of Scar attacked Kilio Valley, Zito and his herd were left without a home. Though they tried to move in with other herds, they were continually rejected and forced to move on. Eventually, Ma Tembo deduced that the elephants must leave the Pride Lands, as they were an unwanted burden on the other Pride Landers. However, after the elephants helped save the galagos from a fire, Laini invited them to move in with her group at Ndefu Grove.
Later, when the spirit of Scar began waging war on the Pride Landers, Zito helped protect his homeland. He joined his fellow Pride Landers in an invasion of the Outlands, from which they emerged victorious.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Zito lived in the Pride Lands. He was a member of Ma Tembo's herd.
===Habitat change===
Zito watched the mashindano between Makuu and Pua. Later, when Makuu invaded Big Springs and upset the habitats in the Pride Lands, Zito and his herd were forced out of the watering hole and into a different grazing ground. The issue was eventually resolved, and the herd returned to the watering hole.
===Bunga the Wise===
When Bunga was purported to be the smartest animal in the Pride Lands, Zito went to Hakuna Matata Falls to seek his advice. Later, after a flood created a new water hole in the Pride Lands, Zito relaxed with several other Pride Landers at the water hole.
===Aminifu's funeral===
When Aminifu died, Zito attended his funeral at Kilio Valley, during which he laid flowers on Aminifu's body. After the funeral, Zito and his herd listened to King Simba's eulogy. However, Simba spoke incorrect elephantese, claiming that Aminfiu had "poop" on him instead of "good" on him. Though shocked, Zito and his herd laughed at the harmless error.
===Kupatana===
When Reirei's pack continuously stole from the Pride Landers, Zito and several other Pride Landers gathered around them angrily. Later, Zito attended the Kupatana celebration. During the festivities, the Pride Landers got attacked by Reirei's family, and Zito helped the Lion Guard fend them off. After the jackals got sent away, the Kupatana celebration continued.
===False alarm===
When Mtoto and his friends pretended to be hyenas, they scared several Pride Landers, including Zito. The Pride Landers huddled together until the Lion Guard gave the all-clear.
===Elephant concert===
When the elephants held their first concert of the season, Simba and his family resolved to be in attendance. However, when Simba fell into a sinkhole, only Nala and Kiara could attend. Along with his herd, Zito performed for Nala and Kiara. After the concert, Simba arrived with the Lion Guard, Timon, and Pumbaa, and the group performed "Hakuna Matata" for the elephant herd.
===Royal Mud Print Ceremony===
When the legendary eagle Hadithi visited the Pride Lands, he preached to a crowd of Pride Landers, saying, "The higher you fly, the more they'll look up to you." Zito pointed out that this advice did not apply well to elephants, so Ono stepped forward and explained that Hadithi was referring to how each animal could better themselves by getting through challenges. Zito thanked Ono for his clarification.
At twilight, Zito attended Hadithi's Royal Mud Print Ceremony. Later, he attended Ono's Royal Mud Print Ceremony.
===New water source===
Zito followed Ma Tembo as she searched for water. In the midst of the search, Janja's clan attacked the herd, only to get driven off by the Lion Guard. After the herd calmed, Zito encouraged Ma Tembo to continue searching for a new water source. However, Janja's clan soon attacked again, but this time, they chased the baboon leader's troop. The Lion Guard arrived and led Zito into a rocky gorge, where Kion used the Roar of the Elders to blast the hyenas back into the Outlands.
Later, Zito followed Ma Tembo as she continued to search for a new water source. Eventually, Makini managed to quiet everyone down, and Ma Tembo was finally able to locate water. Along with the other Pride Landers, Zito drank from the new water source.
===Mashindano===
Zito watched the mashindano between Kiburi and Makuu.
===Dry lightning===
When the Lion Guard found out about a dry lightning attack, they tried to warn the Pride Landers. However, Zito and a pair of hippopotamuses disregarded the Lion Guard's warning since there was no rain. As Ono explained what dry lightning was, lightning struck, and the Pride Landers finally realized their danger. The Lion Guard started to lead their charges away from the watering hole, only for dry lightning to trap them in a ring of fire. Zito attempted to spray the fire out, to no avail.
Just in time, Beshte pushed a boulder into the flames, which allowed the trapped Pride Landers to safely cross the ring of fire. Kion then used the Roar of the Elders to put out the fire, and the Pride Landers thanked him for having saved them.
===Ukumbusho Tradition===
At Mizimu Grove, Zito and his herd prepared for the Ukumbusho Tradition, a celebration that honored the peace between the elephants and lions of the Pride Lands. In the midst of the preparations, Makini arrived to help paint the elephants for the ceremony. However, while she was painting sunbursts on Zito's forehead, she ran out of yellow paint, to Zito's annoyance. Ma Tembo suggested that Makini collect more yellow fruit from the nearby forest, and Makini did so, clearing a hive of bees from a clump of yellow flowers and bringing the yellow paint back to Mizimu Grove.
With his sunburst finished, Zito took part in the Ukumbusho ceremony. However, in the midst of the ceremony, a swarm of bees attacked the elephants and chased them from the grove. Kion ordered the Lion Guard to chase down the elephants before they could hurt anyone, and the team took off to halt the stampede. While on the run, the Lion Guard realized that the bees were attracted to the elephants' forehead paint, which was made of flowers. Ono reported that the elephants were heading through Sehemu Pass, and the Lion Guard used this to their advantage. Since the elephants were too large, they got stuck, and Mtoto was able to spray the paint off their foreheads.
Later, at Mizimu Grove, Makini volunteered to collect more yellow fruit for the paint, but Kion suggested that they continue the ceremony without any paint. Simba appeared and told Ma Tembo that this could simply be a new tradition for the elephants of the Pride Lands. Ma Tembo agreed to the new plan, and the Ukumbusho Tradition continued in a new vein.
===Kumbuka===
Zito attended Simba's Kumbuka celebration at Pride Rock.
===Kilio Valley fire===
At Kilio Valley, the Lion Guard struggled to put out a widespread brush fire. At first, the team believed that the fire had been put out, but then embers began falling from the sky and reignited the valley. The Lion Guard spread out, accepting help from several elephants, while Ma Tembo led the rest of the herd out of the valley. However, on their way out of the valley, the herd got cornered among the flames by Janja, Kiburi, Reirei, and their respective followers. Ono overheard Janja's cackling and reported what he had heard to Kion, who suspected Scar of being responsible for the trouble. He then ordered the Lion Guard to protect the elephants instead of put out the fire.
Just in time, the Lion Guard led the herd out of the blazing valley. Once safe, Ma Tembo mourned how Kilio Valley had been destroyed, and Zito blamed the Lion Guard for their failure to save his herd's home. Guiltily, Kion accepted Zito's criticism. Ma Tembo then appealed to Kion for help in finding her herd a temporary home, and he resolved to do so.
Kion led the elephants to the galagos and the giraffes, but both groups turned the elephants away. Frustrated, Kion ordered Bupu to accept the elephants until the Lion Guard could come up with another solution. However, when the Lion Guard discovered that the elephant herd had been forcibly outed by Bupu, Kion approached them and assured Ma Tembo that he would find them a new home. Despite Kion's optimism, Ma Tembo insisted that they must leave the Pride Lands, as none of the other Pride Landers wanted them.
Just then, Ono alerted Kion to a new fire that had broken out at Ndefu Grove. The Lion Guard rushed to the grove, where Laini begged the team to save her galagos. Kion raced across the Pride Lands to where Ma Tembo and her herd were still en route to another kingdom. He explained the situation to her, and she agreed to help the galagos, as she considered the other Pride Landers her family. Zito, however, refused to help and stayed behind to look after the mothers and their calves.
With Kion and Ma Tembo in the lead, the elephants raced to Ndefu Grove, where they promptly put out the fire. In the midst of the chaos, a tree nearly fell on Kion when Zito suddenly appeared and caught it on his back. Kion was delighted by Zito's change of heart, and Zito explained that he should not turn his back on his family.
After the fire got put out, Laini thanked the elephants for their help and offered them a place with her galagos in Ndefu Grove. Ma Tembo happily accepted her offer.
===Scar's attacks===
When the Lion Guard concluded that the Pride Landers must unite against the threat of the Outlanders, they gathered Bupu's herd, Laini's group, Ma Tembo's herd, and Mbeya's crash. At first, the Pride Landers were tense, but Kion worked to defuse the tension and instructed the animals to race toward Bunga. However, the event soon got out of hand, for the animals tripped over the galagos and ended up in a heap. Kion then got the idea to call Makuu for help. Makuu begrudgingly agreed to help, but his training proved to be too rigorous and ruthless for the other Pride Landers to master.
Later, after Makuu quit helping the Pride Landers, the Army of Scar besieged Makuu's float. Ono witnessed the battle from overhead and reported his findings to Kion. Together, the Lion Guard and their Pride Lander allies stormed the watering hole and fought off the Army of Scar. After the fight, Makuu thanked the Pride Landers for their help and vowed to do the same for them should the need ever arise.
Zito was present when Dhahabu arrived at Pride Rock.
At Mizimu Grove, Rafiki and Simba announced Makini's mpando mpaya, and Timon and Pumbaa performed "Tujiinue". In the midst of the celebration, the Army of Scar attacked, and the Pride Landers rose up to defend themselves. The battle paused when Scar appeared in the flames and threatened to overtake the entirety of the Pride Lands. Frightened by Scar's unexpected appearance, the remaining Pride Landers, including Zito and his herd, fled Mizimu Grove.
Kion used the Roar of the Elders to defeat the Outlanders, while Simba deliberated what to do with Ma Tembo. After the Pride Landers had calmed, Simba approached them and admitted that he had had knowledge of Scar's return for some time. While most of the Pride Landers disapproved of Simba's deception, Ma Tembo noted that she understood why he had kept it a secret. The herds then deliberated whether they should leave the Pride Lands, and Simba told them to inform him of their decision the following morning at Pride Rock.
The next day, Kion implored the Pride Landers to follow him to Mizimu Grove before they decided to leave the Pride Lands for good. The herds followed Kion to Mizimu Grove, where Makini's baobab tree seed had survived the fire. This inspired them to remain in the kingdom and work together to defeat Scar.
===Battle for the Pride Lands===
Zito and his herd gathered at Pride Rock to train against the Army of Scar. While there, Zito witnessed Scar's spirit appearing in a fire at Pride Rock and threatening the Pride Landers. Afterward, the Pride Landers resolved to invade the Outlands and finish off the Army of Scar once and for all.
The next morning, the Pride Landers invaded the Outlands and successfully defeated the Army of Scar. Afterward, Zito listened to Kion's victory speech and witnessed Jasiri becoming the queen of the Outlands.
===Lion Guard's trip to the Tree of Life===
Zito and his herd bid the Lion Guard farewell as they left the Pride Lands for the Tree of Life. Later, when Beshte returned to Big Springs from his journey, Zito and his herd arrived to welcome him home.
===Battle of the Lion Guards===
During the Battle of the Lion Guards, Zito and Ma Tembo served as props for the competition between the Strongest members of the Lion Guards, Beshte and Imara. With Zito and Ma Tembo on top, Beshte and Imara pushed boulders across Chakula Plains toward the finishing line. Though Beshte initially had the upper hand, Imara won the competition due to Beshte getting sunburned and having to cool off in a nearby mud hole.
Later, Zito watched both Fuli's and Anga's competitions. He also witnessed the final mashindano between Kion and Vitani, and reacted with awe when Askari's spirit appeared in the sky and when Kion used the Roar of the Elders to lift Pride Rock.
===Kion's coronation===
Zito attended Kion's wedding to Rani at the Tree of Life.
==Physical appearance==
Zito is a moderately sized elephant. He has dark gray skin that is tinged with blue, with several dark spots on top of his head and along his back. His eyes are black, and he has two notches in each ear.
==Personality and traits==
Zito is irritable and short-tempered. He is also quite sarcastic and passive aggressive. At times, he can be callous, as seen when he refused to save the galagos from a fire, though he eventually had a change of heart for the sake of his Pride Lander family. Like most elephants, Zito reveres tradition.
==Appearances==
==Trivia==
* Zito was voiced by Nick Watt.
* Zito's name means "heavy" or "difficult" or "severe" or "harsh" in Swahili.
==References==
Category:Canon articles
Category:Characters
Category:Elephants
Category:The Lion Guard characters
Category:Males
Category:Pride Landers