Baliyo

**Baliyo** is a young male lion who appears in the third season of *The Lion Guard*. He lives at the Tree of Life and is a member of the Night Pride, the younger brother of Rani and grandson of Janna.

## Background

### Appearance

He has dark brown fur, with a creamy brown underbelly, muzzle and paws. His large hair tuft is a dark greyish-brown, with darker and lighter stripes running through it. The same goes for his tail tuft. Dotted around his legs are dark brown spots and there are three smaller spots under his eyes. His ear rims are black around the top and brown along the sides, and his inner ear is light pink which is darker near the ear canal. Baliyo has pale yellow sclerae, with dark blue irises. His nose is large, pointed, and dark pink. Unlike the other male lions on the show, Baliyo doesn’t have any whiskers

### Personality

Baliyo is an enthusiastic and friendly lion. He is brave, loyal and dedicated to his pride and their duty to protect the Tree of Life, which has also led to Baliyo being somewhat rash and quick to jump to conclusions, as seen when the Night Pride first met the Lion Guard. He also seems to be a little impatient at times. Otherwise, he is welcoming and forgiving, not holding a grudge against Kion for using the Roar on him apart from asking him not to do it again. He has a big heart and loves his family, as he was heartbroken by the passing of his grandmother, but swore to her that he would stay strong and support his sister.

## Role in the series

### ***The Tree of Life***

When Bunga causes a rock slide that blocks the entrance to the Tree of Life (due to his obsession of honey), Baliyo and the rest of the Night Pride think the visitors trying to enter the Tree of Life are a threat to which Ullu leads the Night Pride. Upon seeing the Lion Guard, Baliyo assumes they are a threat and attacks Kion. Following Baliyo, the rest of the Night Pride attacks the Guard. Kion soon uses the Roar of the Elders on Baliyo, blowing him away from the mountain pass. Rani gets upset at him for roaring at her little brother and forbids the Lion Guard entry to the Tree of Life. Rani asks if her brother is okay and he says that he was, although he still feels a little dizzy. Baliyo asks who the Lion Guard members where and what the Roar was and Surak comments that Kion's abilities seem like a power of legend. Rani decides to speak with her grandmother while Surak and Nirmala take Baliyo to get him a cure for his head. After talking to her and her parents, Rani agrees to let the Lion Guard in. Upon finding the Guard, they notice that they cleared the pass. Kion apologizes for using the Roar and about the rockslide and humbly asks for Ono to be healed. Rani accepts Kion's apology, and she and the Night Pride escort the Lion Guard to the Tree of Life. Along the way, Baliyo asks Kion not to use the Roar on him again and Kion promises him that he won't. Rani soon welcomes them to the Tree of Life.

### ***The River of Patience***

When Rani brings the Lion Guard inside the Tree of Life to speak with her grandmother Janna. Janna asks Nirmala to help heal Kion's scar while she asks Rani to show the rest of the Guard around the Tree of Life. Later, the Night Pride soon fights Makucha, Chuluun and Ora who have secretly followed the Lion Guard. The Lion Guard comes to help, however Rani didn't want their help and insists they can handle it.

Later, Makucha and the others come back again and the Night Pride fights them. During the battle, Baliyo gets bitten by Ora, making him unable to fight. Chuluun charges at Baliyo ready to attack but Kion arrives just in time to protect him. Baliyo is very happy to see Kion and asks him to use his Roar on the predators, showing that he trusts Kion and admires his Roar. With help from the Lion Guard they're able to win the battle. Afterwards, Rani nuzzles him and tells him be more careful when fighting a Komodo dragon like Ora to which according to Nirmala, the venom from the Komodo dragon will wear off.

### ***Little Old Ginterbong***

Rani and Baliyo are relaxing with the Lion Guard at a water hole, when Kion and Nirmala come along. Kion has mud on him face which is helping to treat the venom in his scar. Nirmala says that it's time for Ono to get healed to which is excited, and he heads off to the Tree of Life. When Fuli rhetorically asks if Bunga can be any noisier when he eats, Baliyo says that Bunga should meet his friend Binga to which Baliyo takes Bunga to the marsh to meet her. After meeting Binga, she and Bunga soon have a bug eating contest to which Binga wins against him. Baliyo is amazed by what he sees. Soon the Night Pride see Mama Binturong being attacked by the predators to which the Night Pride takes her to see Janna.

However, it is later figured out that Mama Binturong has been tricking the Night Pride and the Lion Guard the whole time. Bunga explains what really happened and she runs off. When Bunga says that he and Binga can get rid of her, Baliyo guesses right away how they plan to do it.

### ***Poa the Destroyer***

Baliyo, Kion, Nirmala, Beshte and Fuli gather around Bunga and giggle as they watch him talk about Binga in his sleep. After he wakes up, all the other members of the Lion Guard go off to do their own things, and Baliyo decides to get some sleep, as he is tired from a night of patrolling. Beshte wonders what he's going to do to which Baliyo asks him what he does back at the Pride Lands. Beshte says that he loves meeting new animals. Baliyo suggests that Beshte should walk around the Tree of Life, as there are lots of amazing animals there, and they are all very friendly.

Later, a group of animals led by Pinguino reports to Baliyo about a menacing new animal who is destroying the Tree of Life's habitats. Baliyo tells the animals to go back home while he informs Rani of the problem. After fetching Rani, Baliyo runs into Pinuino again. This time, Pinguino complains that "Poa the Destroyer had terrorized his home a second time. This makes Rani realize Poa the Destroyer's true identity, as his name matches Beshte's catchphrase. Rani asks Baliyo to round up the Lion Guard while she talks to Kion. Rani and Baliyo then tell Beshte that the animals are afraid of him to which Beshte feels upset. While Beshte is off by himself, the others agree to host a meeting in which Beshte can win the animals trust.

Baliyo and Bunga gather Tangaagim and the penguins as Rani wants to see the animals at the Tree of Life. Rani tells the animals that there has been a misunderstanding. The Lion Guard tells the animals that Beshte isn't a monster. When the penguins show up, Rani sees that Pinguino is missing. However, Pinguino arrives at the spot along with Beshte. He starts calling Beshte "Poa the Life Saver." After hearing how nice really is and how he saved Pinguino, the animals praise Beshte while Baliyo and the others watch in satisfaction.

### ***Long Live the Queen***

The Night Pride and the Lion Guard fight against Makucha's Army from preventing a family of Tigers from entering the Tree of Life. Upon fending off Makucha's army, Ullu soon comes by saying that Queen Janna would like to see Rani and the Night Pride along with Kion. When the Night Pride arrives at the Tree of Life, they notice a crowd of animals gathering and realize that Queen Janna is dying. At first, Baliyo was afraid to go in, but Surak tells him he must be there, since Janna asked to see him, with Nirmala assuring Baliyo that they'll be there with him too. After some persuasion from Rani, he agrees.

Inside the Tree, Baliyo nuzzles his grandmother, who tells him to stay strong as Rani will need his strength. After Rani is the last to spend her last moments with Queen Janna, she tells Rani that it is time for her to be queen as Janna completes her Circle of Life. Baliyo weeps alongside the rest of the Night Pride and Kion comforts Rani after realizing this situation. Outside the Tree of Life, Makini tells the animals that Queen Janna has completed her Circle of Life and as a tradition, all the animals are gathered at the Willows for a farewell to the deceased queen. Baliyo gives out a condolence of what Queen Janna did before she died. Later when Rani becomes the new Queen, he cheers his sister on.

### ***The Lake of Reflection***

When Makcuha's Army comes back to attack the animals at the Tree of Life, the Night Pride fights them off once again although Baliyo is exhausted from a night of patrolling. Although the Lion Guard comes to work together, Kion and Rani's leadership causes in confusion.

Eventually by working together, the Lion Guard and the Night Pride drive off Makucha's army. Kion then compromises with the Night Pride explaining that the Lion Guard will patrol during the day and the Night Pride will patrol during the night to which Rani accepts Kion's compromise. Meanwhile, Mama Binturong overhears the conversation from a nearby tree.

When Makucha's army comes back to the Tree of Life, Baliyo and the Night Pride listen to Kion's instructions on how to fight them, showing that they trust Kion as a leader. The two teams fight against the villains and together they are able to defeat them.

### ***Triumph of the Roar***

When Makucha and his henchmen enter the Tree of Life due to Ullu falling asleep, the Night Pride arrives to confront them but the Lion Guard steps in and fights them off.

Makucha's Army (this time with new reinforcements) comes back again in a plan to take over the Tree of Life and take revenge against the Lion Guard and the Night Pride in an attempt to eat the rare animals. Ullu then warns the Night Pride about the ambush, only for Ora and the two Komodo dragons to trap Baliyo, Surak, Nirmala and Makini in the Tree of Life using a big rock. With the Night Pride trapped inside, Makucha's army then begins attacking the animals.

Anga brings help and Kion uses his mastered Roar on the predators and then uses it to free Makini and the rest of the Night Pride from the Tree by destroying the rock with bolts of dry lightning. Kion then uses a tornado to blast the villains far away from the Tree of Life never to be seen again and the animals are safe from the ambush. Baliyo regrets missing out on seeing Kion do more. After witnessing the full power of Kion's Roar, Rani asks a now-healed Kion and his friends to stay at the Tree of Life instead of returning to the Pride Lands.

### ***Return to the Pride Lands***

After passing on his role as Leader of the Lion Guard and the Roar to Vitani (and mastering the Roar in the process), Kion asks the Guard if they would like to join the Night Pride and become protectors of the Tree of Life. They all agree and are instantly given the Mark of the Night Pride. They then return to the Tree of Life. With all of Kion's family and friends watching him, Kion marries Rani and is crowned King of the Tree of Life. Baliyo is shown to be very happy that Kion is now a member of his family, and they are brothers-in-law.

## Family

* **Janna**: Paternal Grandmother †
* **Sãhasí**: Father †
* **Ãnanda**: Mother †
* **Surak**: Paternal Uncle
* **Rani**: Older Sister
* **Kion**: Brother-in-Law
* **Kiara**: Sister-in-Law
* **Kovu**: Brother-in-Law
* **Simba**: Father-in-Law
* **Nala**: Mother-in-Law

## Friends

* **Kion**
* **Bunga**
* **Fuli**
* **Beshte**
* **Ono**
* **Anga**
* **Makini**
* **Simba**
* **Nala**
* **Kiara**
* **Kovu**
* **Binga**
* **Nirmala**
* **Pinguino**
* **Tangaagim**
* **Ullu**
* **Varya**
* **Feliks**
* **Pasha**
* **Polina**

## Enemies

* **Makucha**
* **Chuluun**
* **Ora**
* **Mama Binturong**
* **Kion** (briefly)

## Trivia

* Baliyo is the only male lion (and big cat) on *The Lion Guard* who doesn’t have whiskers.
* "*Baliyo*" means "*Strong*" in Nepali.
* "*Lada'i*" means "*Fight*" in Hindi and in Nepali.