Giraffe

Giraffes (scientific name Giraffa camelopardalis) are creatures that appear in The Lion King movies and franchise.

Appearance
The giraffes seen in The Lion King franchise are most likely Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) where they reside in Kenya and Tanzania which is where African lions reside in. If so, those giraffes have usually long legs, and a long neck with special valves used to control the flow of blood to the head. Their pelt coat is covered in irregular star-shaped patches, and are buff-colored below the knee.

Information
During the "opening sequence", a giraffe calf and an adult are seen heading towards Pride Rock and watch other animals do the same, causing the giraffes to join in. Later on, red giraffes later reappear in "I Just Can't Wait to be King" when Simba is bouncing on each other, and rolls down a giraffe's neck declaring he's "standing in spotlight". After the song ended, a giraffe was eating leaves as Zazu muffled when a rhino crushed him. Giraffes were seen again in the song, "Hakuna Matata" and flee from the flatulence caused by Pumbaa. Finally, the giraffes appeared near the end of the film during the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub.

A Tale of Two Brothers
When Rafiki searches for breakfast in the trees, it's mentioned that the giraffes have gleaned most branches of leaves. Giraffes are later seen complaining to Ahadi about the drought, being blamed by the zebras for stealing all the leaves. Self-indignant, the giraffes refute all arguments against them.