Tickbirds and rhi-i-i-inos

Were always a pair

Kifaru and Mwenzi, Ono the Tickbird

Rhinoceroses, sometimes called rhinos, are mammals that appear in The Lion Guard universe. They live in the Pride Lands.


In the Real World

Rhinos are large animals with noticeably large horns on the front of their snouts.

In The Lion Guard

In The Lion Guard, they are shown to be gray or gray-blue in color, with small eyes and tapered ears like their real-life counterparts. Mbeya had proven for rhinos can climb trees with a lot of struggle.


The rhinoceroses seen in The Lion Guard franchise are both black and white rhinoceroses. Both male and female rhinos have two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm (20 in) long, exceptionally up to 140 cm (55 in).

The longest known rhinoceros horn was nearly 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length. The black rhino is smaller than the white rhino, and it has a pointed and prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when eating. The white rhino is larger than the black rhino, and it has a wide lip that is more suitable for grazing.

Their thick-layered skin protects the rhino from thorns and sharp grasses. Their skin hides external parasites, like mites and ticks, which are eaten by tickbirds and egrets that live with the rhino. This was once thought to be an example of mutualism, but recent evidence suggests that tickbirds may also be parasites, feeding on rhino blood. All rhinoceros have poor eyesight, relying more on hearing and smell. Their ears have a wide rotational range to detect sounds. A great sense of smell alerts rhinos to the presence of predators. They lived in the groups called Crash, or Herd, or Stubbornness.

The very last male northern white rhino has died, but scientists have saved some of his sperm for the remaining two females of that subspecies.


The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

Bunga holds onto a rhino's horn

Bunga is briefly seen clinging to the horn of a running rhino during the song Zuka Zama.

The Lion Guard

Mbeya the rhino serves as a minor character in The Lion Guard and appears occasionally.

Never Judge a Hyena by Its Spots

[[File:Never-judge-a-hyena-by-its-spots (207).png|thumb|220px|Mbeya talks to Beshte A rhino named Mbeya gives the Lion Guard directions to Flat Ridge Rock.

The Rise of Makuu

The rhinos watch the fight

Multiple rhinos are present at the Mashindano between Makuu and Pua. They witness Makuu defeat Pua.

The Kupatana Celebration

A rhinoceros stands among other animals at the Kupatana Celebration

The Lion Guard rescues Mbeya the rhino from the mud at Lake Matope. During the song Jackal Style, a rhino steps on Dogo's tail. A rhino is later seen chasing after a second jackal pup. At the end of the song, rhinos are seen among the other Pride Landers surrounding the jackals. Rhinos are also present at Kupatana.

Paintings and Predictions

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In the Lair of the Lion Guard, some of Rafiki's paintings are of rhinoceroses.

Beware the Zimwi

Young Rhino listens to a scary story told by Rafiki. He later sleeps with Mtoto and Young Hare, but is frightened by The Zimwi, the legendary creature Rafiki had told them about. He runs back to the Lion Guard and tells them all about it, which sets off an adventure for the Guard.

Beshte and the Hippo Lanes

Young Rhino makes a cry for help in Flood Plains, and soon Basiand Beshte come to rescue him. They find him entangled in some reeds, and discover Makuu and Male Crocodile approaching him. Basi and Beshte manage warn them away, chastising them for not following the Circle of Life. Although annoyed, Makuu leaves and calls for his friend to follow, leaving Young Rhino trapped yet safe. They discover that Young Rhino was too impatient to wait for the new Hippo Lanes, and that he had tried to traverse the plains alone. Basi and Beshte try to untangle him, but a flock of birds startles Young Rhino and he accidentally strikes Basi with his horn. When he is free, he thanks them and leaves, promising to wait for the Hippo Lanes' completion. Later, when the Hippo Lanes are finished, he and his mother are seen crossing the Flood Plains together, along with many other animals. 

Ono the Tickbird

All the Crash of rhinos and flock of tickbirds are gathering at Tamasha in Lake Matope during a Rhinos spar in the mud. 

Babysitter Bunga

Bunga watches the young rhino and teaches him how to Teke Ruka Teleza

The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar

During at Bring Back a Legend since Rhino are marching with Forest Hog and Bushbuck.

Let Sleeping Crocs Lie

Multiple Rhinos with Mbeya are present at the Mashindano between Makuu and Kiburi  They watching Makuu defeat Kiburi. And Simba banished Kiburi and his Followers into the Outlands

Rafiki's New Neighbors

Rhinos are seen when Makini watching at the Painting Ceremony.

Rescue in the Outlands

When Tsetse Flies invade the Pride Lands, they eventually make their way over to Mbeya. When the Lion Guard find him, they see that he is completely overturned in a small ditch. After Beshte helps him get out, Mbeya explains how he was rolling around to get rid of the flies, but accidentally rolled into the stream bed by mistake. The Lion Guard offer to escort him to a watering hole, but notice Thurston's Herd waiting nearby. When the flies disappear, Ono comes to the conclusion that it's the zebra stripes that they don't like. The Lion Guard escort both the herd and Mbeya to a new watering hole, their journey uninterrupted by the flies.

Timon and Pumbaa's Christmas

When Bunga wants to give his uncles the best Christmas ever, Mbeya agrees to join in with the celebrations. After rehearsing all night, they are about to give up until Bunga reveals to them how important it is to him, and why.

They return and perform "The Twelve Ways of Christmas" with the other animals, where Mbeya falls out of a Baobab tree at the very end of the performance.

Beshte and the Beast

Kifaru is lost trying to look for the watering hole. Beshte and Shujaa decide to help him. Shujaa makes an opening by mashing rocks. 

Pride Landers Unite!

Mbeya's crash helps protect the Pride Lands from the Outlanders when they attack Makuu's Watering Hole

The Queen's Visit

Mbeya's Crash watches as Queen Dhahabu and her herd come to Pride Rock. They join in on the fun while she sings Prance With Me.

Battle for the Pride Lands

The Pride Lands' Rhinoceroses are in said battle. When the Lion Guard is leaving the Pride Lands to find the Tree of Life, Mbeya's Crash can been seen saying goodbye to them.

The Harmattan

Rhinoceroses appear during the song The Tree of Life.

Return to the Pride Lands

The Rhinoceroses are seen welcoming Lion Guard home from the Tree of Life. They are next seen attending the contest of Kion's Guard and Vitani's Lion Guard. They are attending Kion's coronation as King of the Tree of Life.

Notable Rhinoceroses in The Lion Guard

Animals in The Lion Guard
Pride Landers
CrowsHyenasJackalsMole-ratsMonitor LizardsMothsRainbow AgamasScorpionsSkinksVultures
Other Animals