Sarabi, Simba’s mother and Mufasa’s
mate, is one of the most well-loved characters in the Lion King universe. The real-world reason that she doesn’t appear
in Simba’s Pride (SP) is that the woman who voiced her
died and, out of respect to her, they didn’t attempt to find a replacement.
However, within the Lion King universe
there are multiple fan theories about why she is no longer there by the time SP starts. Unfortunately, all of the realistic
explanations involve Sarabi dying. I’ll be discussing some of these theories.
Sarabi Died of Infection
While we can definitely rule out
Sarabi dying in the actual fighting that happened when Simba took back Pride
Rock (because she’s there when he ascends the rock and roars in victory), it’s
possible that she was injured in combat and eventually succumbed to infection.
This theory is supported by the fact that she doesn’t appear in the closing scene, in which the Pridelands have been restored to their former glory and all
of the animals have gathered to view the new royal cub. Given that multiple
months would have passed between Simba reclaiming the throne and the birth of
his first cub, it is entirely possible that Sarabi had a wound that got too
infected for even Rafiki to fix and said infection killed her before the end of
TLK.
Sarabi Was Murdered
Another theory is that Sarabi was
killed by Scar’s followers, maybe even Zira herself, before Simba exiled them. In
fact, such an act could have been the inciting incident that made Simba banish
them in the first place. This would not only explain Simba’s general distrust of Outlanders but
his specific hatred for Zira (assuming she was the one who killed Sarabi).
Simba also doesn’t seem like the type to banish his animals from the Pridelands
without a good reason (until SP). If he tried for a peace agreement at first
and then Zira murdered Sarabi, it would make sense for him to pass
judgement with little provocation in the future (like he does when he first meets Kovu) because
he is afraid of the Outlanders taking advantage of his mercy again.
Sarabi Died of Old Age
The life expectancy for African
lions in the wild is 10-14 years. Given that Sarabi and Mufasa were probably
somewhere between 4 and 6 years old (full maturity) when Simba was born and that
he was gone for another 4 to 6 years or so (as he reached full maturity), Sarabi would
be somewhere around 10 years old by the time TLK ends. It’s possible that she wasn’t injured or murdered and
that it was just her time to go. This is one of my personal favorites because
it means that, after all she went through, she got to live the fullest life she
could and the only thing that cut it short was nature itself.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
R.i.p saribia we love you
ReplyDeleteI think she did not die because i saw her when the pack of lions came to fetch kiara as a cup the fist time she met kuvo
ReplyDeleteSarabi i love you
ReplyDeletesarabi is died?
ReplyDeleteFemale lions live up to 14 years of age whilst males live up to 12.
ReplyDeleteMufasa and Scar, (in lion years) appear to be 5 or 6 years old given how they appear very grown into their manes. And Simba is shown to spend at least 3-5 years in the jungle in order to grow his mane in.
So Sarabi would be 11-12 years old. She’d still have 2 years left, so she would definitely live long enough to see Simba’s cubs grow up and expect children before dying.
But at the same time, we don’t know if the lions age like actual lions or humans. And if we go by human aging in TLK, Sarabi would likely be in her 70’s.
So if she were to die, she’d likely die from infection or an accident.
Sarabi didn’t die
ReplyDeleteIf scar is in love with sarabi then why did he hit her?
ReplyDeleteAnd I am a HUGE fan of the lion king
ReplyDelete