Ajabu

**Ajabu** is an adult male okapi. He resides in the Pride Lands and makes his first appearance in The Imaginary Okapi.

## Appearance

"*His top half looks like a giraffe, his bottom half looks like zebra, and his face kind of looks like an oryx but without the horns.*"
―
Ajabu is brown, with a well-built body and a long neck. His legs are small and skinny, colored white, with black stripes on his lower thighs and the fur just beneath his shoulders. Above each of his pure black hooves is another stripe, these ones thicker than those located higher up on his legs. His pointy ears are dull peach inside, rimmed with scruffy black fur on one side. He has a white marking covering most of his face, a gray muzzle, and a black nose. He has a 'v' shaped mark on his forehead, also white in color. His skinny tail ends in a small, scruffy black tuft.

## Personality

Ajabu has been described as shy. He is good at concealing himself from view, and will quickly resort to hiding when he feels threatened. He does not willingly engage in violence, though he takes pleasure in seeing Makucha being defeated. Ajabu is polite towards other animals, despite his reserve.

## History

### **The Imaginary Okapi**

As Ajabu is hiding in some bushes, Beshte the hippo joins him, unaware of his presence. Ajabu makes himself known, surprising Beshte. He apologizes for startling the hippo, but explains that he was standing on his hoof. Beshte introduces himself, and Ajabu tells Beshte his name. Beshte invites a Ajabu out of the bush, and after glancing around, the okapi obeys. Beshte remarks that he's never seen anybody like Ajabu, and Ajabu explains that he's not from the Pride Lands. Beshte inquires what Ajabu is, either a zebra or a giraffe, and Ajabu informs him that he's an okapi before searching his ear with his tongue. When Beshte declares that he's never seen an okapi before, Ajabu notifies him that there are few okapis, even where he comes from.
Ajabu goes on to tell Beshte that where he comes from, okapis are forced to live in hiding due to leopards, which causes him to hide even from friendly animals such asTwiga, so Beshte decides to give Ajabu a tour of the Pride Lands as he sings "Life in the Pride Lands". The Lion Guard arrives, and Ajabu immediately hides before they can catch sight of him. Beshte later spots Ajabu and tries to reach him, but fails, with the rest of the Guard still not having sighted his new friend.
Later, Ajabu tries to graze with some zebras. He is confronted by Thurston, who inquires what he is. He tries to explain that he is an okapi, but Thurston proves unwilling to listen, preferring to guess himself. Ajabu then catches sight of Makucha, and Thurston advises him to panic and run. The zebras run in circles, but Ajabu stands still, surprised that Makucha managed to find him. Makucha explains that he followed Ajabu's trail, and adds that the okapi's trail soon will end. Panicked, Ajabu flees, with Makucha in pursuit. He wills the leopard to leave him alone, but Makucha is too intent on hunting him. Makucha pounces once, but Ajabu kicks him away. However, Ajabu soon trips, falling to the ground.

Thankfully, the Lion Guard arrives and stops Makucha before an impressed Ajabu's very eyes. He compliments the Guard and watches as Beshte charges toward Makucha, bellowing, and the leopard finally flees. Beshte introduces Ajabu to the Guard, and Ajabu greets them happily and declares that he doesn't know how to thank them for rescuing him. Beshte advises Ajabu against returning home, where Makucha will surely be waiting, but Ajabu doesn't know what else to do. Kiondecides to take Ajabu to Pride Rock, where the king and queen of the Pride Lands,Simba and Nala, give him their blessing to stay. He thanks them enthusiastically, and Nala tells him that they're happy to have him.

Now that Ajabu is safe, the Guard decides to play hide-and-seek with him. No sooner have they made the suggestion when Ajabu vanishes, causing Bunga to comment that he is skilled at disappearing.

## **Friends**

* **Kion**
* **Bunga**
* **Beshte**
* **Fuli**
* **Ono**
* **Simba**
* **Nala**

## Trivia

* Ajabu is the first okapi in the franchise.
* When Ajabu mentions there are not a lot of him and when Makucha says that okapis are rare, this is reference to okapis being endangered.
* Ajabu looks different than the okapi's seen in *The Lion King II: Simba's Pride*.