Bunga

**Bunga** is the deuteragonist of the Disney Junior show *The Lion Guard*. He is Kion's best friend and a member of the Lion Guard. He is the adoptive nephew of Timon and Pumbaa. His position on the team is the bravest.

## Background

### Personality

Bunga frequently leaps into danger, often without considering the consequences and improvising to the best of his ability. Because of this, it can sometimes take him time to grasp the seriousness of a situation. Bunga is aware of his courage, which he proved when he told Kion why he thought he should be a member of the Lion Guard.

He has a tendency to jump to conclusions before engaging in further thought and believes in quick and easy solutions, though sometimes without thinking twice. Bunga is loyal to Kion and the Lion Guard, and is always ready to help those in need. He is proud to be a member, and cares for all of his friends, though he is occasionally insensitive about their feelings.

Bunga is a ball of energy who is always ready to have fun. He is somewhat of a comedian who likes telling jokes to his friends in which they sometimes find his jokes funny.

### Physical appearance

Bunga is a quite short but stocky honey badger, with a well-rounded physique and small paws. His fur is dark silvery-blue.

Bunga sports many colors, from the striking pinks of his ears to the thick navy shades of his bushy eyebrows. His nose appears to be a very dark shade of brown, while his eyes are coal-black. Perhaps his most striking feature, Bunga's teeth are large and distinctly gap-filled.

In "Battle for the Pride Lands", as a teenager, Bunga has grown taller, his white fur has also became slightly larger.

### Abilities

* **Basic-Level Intellect:** Rafiki had stated that Bunga will be the most intelligent animal in the entire Pride Lands if he thinks things through. He was proven not to be that intelligent, but he was proven to be intelligent enough to use his gas to save Kiara from the stampede, followed by other certain occasions.
* **Skilled Combatant:** Bunga is able to easily defeat Mzingo. As demonstrated in "The Kilio Valley Fire", Bunga can easily knock out Janja.
* **Singing:** As demonstrated throughout the series, Bunga is an excellent singer.
* **Expert Swimmer:** As demonstrated in "Battle for the Pride Lands", Bunga is an excellent swimmer.
* **Powerful Stink:** Like all Honey Badgers, Bunga can shoot a powerful stinky spray that has some good uses like scaring baboons out of a falling tree, but thanks to his uncle Pumbaa he was able to increase from his training.
* **Animal Strength** Bunga is proven to be strong enough to hold Goigoi. He is also proven to have the same level of strength as Janja, a teenage spotted hyena and Reirei, a full grown jackal. But Bunga is as strong as Beshte, Kion, and Fuli respectively.
* **Animal Speed:** Bunga can almost run as fast as Kion; making him the fifth fastest member in the entire Lion Guard.
* **Animal Agility:** Bunga is able to flip in the air. He is not as agile as Fuli, Kion, and Beshte respectively; making him the fourth most agile in the entire Lion Guard.
* **Animal Resistance:** Bunga's thick skin prevents him from being hurt by sharp objects like a porcupine's quills.
* **Venom Immunity:** As a honey badger, Bunga is immune to reptilian venom like Ushari and Kenge. He is also immune to insects venom.
* **Climber:** As a honey badger, Bunga is an excellent climber on trees, but not on rocks.

## Trivia

* Ironically, Bunga is the Indonesian and Malaysian word for "flower", who is also the name of the skunk in the 1942 film *Bambi*.
* His name could also be derived from the phrase "Cowabunga" as a homage to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
* He has abnormal coloring for an African honey badger which is normally black-and-white.
* In the series, Bunga represents the bravest of the Lion Guard. In reality, honey badgers are one of the toughest, most fearless, and fiercest creatures, even getting lions to back off.
* Bunga is friendly and good-natured when real honey badgers are cranky and fierce (though this may be due to him being raised by Timon & Pumbaa).
* He shares the same eye model as Jake from *Jake and the Never Land Pirates*.
* Bunga's voice actor, Joshua Rush, also provides the voice of Jeremy Birnbaum from the Disney XD show *Star vs. the Forces of Evil*.
* He is the second character to be adopted by Timon and Pumbaa, which becomes a major plot point in one episode.
	+ According to "Bunga and the King" Simba and Bunga are adoptive brothers since both were raised by Timon and Pumbaa. This would also mean that Kion is Bunga's nephew and Kiara is his niece, which Bunga points out at the end of the episode.
* Sometimes after the guard makes an enemy flee, Bunga will tell him never to return but it never works.
* Due to Bunga's reckless and childish personality he is most likely the youngest member of the Guard.
* Bunga's catchphrase "Zuka zama!" means "Pop up, dive in!" in Swahili.
* Bunga's name was given to him by Pumbaa, who called him "Bunga" after watching him bravely climb a tree in pursuit of grubs.
* Bunga's fearless and hot-headed nature is grounded in reality, as real honey badgers are aggressive and fearless.
* Bunga has a crush on Dhahabu, a golden zebra from the Back Lands.
* Bunga is in a relationship with a female honey badger named Binga in the final season.