Continuity mistake: The number of feathers in Zazu's tail repeatedly changes from three to four throughout the film.
Continuity mistake: In the 1995 VHS version of the film, at the end of the Elephant Graveyard scene, Scar's shadow is not matching the way his body is posing. This was corrected in the 2003 DVD version.
Other mistake: When Zazu is alarmed at the pouncing lesson, he loses a couple of feathers that simply vanish in midair. (00:10:45)
Revealing mistake: Rafiki puts the dirt on Simba who subsequently sneezes. When he does, the paint on his head doesn't move with his head and then appears off his head floating in mid air. (00:03:35)
Continuity mistake: At the start Rafiki puts the "paint" on Simba's forehead just above his eyes. When he puts the dirt on Simba the "paint" is much higher. (00:03:20)
Continuity mistake: The number of stripes on Timon's back between shots change from 5 to 6.
Continuity mistake: When Simba is talking with his father on the clouds, he has 6 or 7 whiskers but they become 4.
Continuity mistake: When Timon collects a leaf full of insects and grub for Simba to enjoy, the leaf casts no shadow on the ground initially. However from the next angle it does. (00:46:45)
Continuity mistake: Right after Simba grows into an adult during "Hakuna Matata", Timon walks onto Pumbaa's head and stands directly above his eyes. But once everybody starts singing together in the following shot, Timon has changed position and is now standing behind Pumbaa's black mane instead. (00:47:20)
Continuity mistake: As Rafiki leads Simba through the bushes to show that Mufasa is still alive, he sticks out his left hand and brings Simba to a halt. When the shots change, Rafiki can be seen holding his thumb in very different positions. (01:05:15)
Continuity mistake: After the elephant graveyard hyena incident, there's a very wide shot of Simba and Nala trailing behind Mufasa and Zazu in the open field. Nala looks over at Simba, but in the next frame she's staring at the ground instead. (00:22:40)
Continuity mistake: During Simba and Scar's showdown near the end, Simba gets smacked to the ground at one point. Upon landing, his right paw comes to rest beside his ear. One shot later, however, Simba's paw can't be seen near the ear where it's supposed to be. (01:19:35)
Continuity mistake: During Pumbaa's flashback scene in "Hakuna Matata" where he joins several other animals by the waterhole for a drink, an elephant with notches on its right ear gets a whiff of him and dashes away. But just before the elephant runs off screen its ear suddenly has no notches, but smooth edges instead. (00:45:05)
Continuity mistake: In one shot during "Hakuna Matata" Timon bites through half of a red and black bug, calling it piquant and pleasantly crunchy. He holds the other half in his left hand, and at first one of its hind legs is noticeably intact. But this hind leg suddenly vanishes as Timon is enjoying the flavor (it doesn't visibly fall off for instance - it simply disappears into thin air). (00:46:30)
Continuity mistake: When the three hyenas (Ed, Shenzi and Banzai) have Simba and Nala trapped in a dark corner of the elephant graveyard, Mufasa suddenly jumps in to save them. After he wrangles the hyenas to the ground, look at how Mufasa's left paw is placed right beside Ed's ear. But in the next shot where they're begging for mercy, Mufasa's paw is all of a sudden positioned further down by Ed's feet. (00:21:40)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Pumbaa gets jammed beneath a large tree root while trying to avoid being eaten by Nala, Timon runs over and tries to dislodge him from behind. Before Simba appears out of nowhere to pounce on Nala, notice how there's a large weed growing near the root on Pumbaa's left side. But just several shots later when Timon starts cheering Simba on, the weed vanishes. (00:54:25)
Continuity mistake: During Timon's hula dance diversion in front of the starving hyenas, Pumbaa sits on a pile of leaves with an apple at his side. As soon as their act is over, Timon and Pumbaa run away - but notice how the apple and leaves have suddenly vanished. (01:12:10)
Continuity mistake: When Zazu bows down at the start, Mufasa is smiling. In the next shot, he is no longer smiling, and he didn't have time to wipe the smile off his face. (00:01:45)
Continuity mistake: During "Be Prepared", we see legions of Hyenas marching past Scar, casting no shadows at all against the back wall. In the next shot, we see stripes of shadows going past Scar.
Continuity mistake: When Timon and Pumba save Simba, Timon lies on a bit of dry land. Its shape changes between shots.
Answer: Lions are not like humans, even though Disney tends to make them that way. It's rare for more than one or two full grown lions to be in a pride. Other males are in "bachelor prides" until they win a pride of their own. It's likely that Scar or Mufasa sired Nala.
Brenda Elzin