What type of animal is Rafiki?

Rafiki is a mandrill in The Lion King. He serves as the wise shaman of the Pride Lands and helps guide the royal family through births, deaths and the restoration of rightful leadership.

Mandrills are Old World monkeys native to west-central Africa. They are famous for vivid blue-and-red facial markings, red coloration on the posterior and prominent canine teeth in males. Although Rafiki is often mistaken for a baboon, mandrills and baboons are distinct animals; mandrills belong to the genus Mandrillus.

The confusion is understandable because Rafiki has an unusually long tail in the films and is sometimes described as baboon-like. His name means “friend” in Swahili, and he lives in a baobab tree. In the opening sequence, he presents the newborn Simba to the animals gathered at Pride Rock.

The stage musical changes Rafiki into a female mandrill and makes the character its narrator. The 1994 film’s Rafiki was voiced by Robert Guillaume.