Physical information




Skin color


Eye color


Distinguishing features

Tusk stubs

Biographical information



Pride Lands


Pride Landers

Relationship information

Pembe (mother)
Lulu (sister)


Mayai, Mufasa, Nzuri, Pamba, Pembe, Sukari, Zazu

We could give Zazu wrong information. That way, he'd get in trouble with Mufasa.
―Cheka to his friends[src]

Cheka is a male elephant.

Zazu the hornbill earned a notorious reputation for getting the Pride Landers in trouble with Mufasa. Cheka and his friends decided to play a prank on Zazu by feeding him false information and thus discrediting his reports. The plan initially worked, with Mufasa losing faith in his majordomo, but Zazu redeemed himself by warning the Pride Landers of a deadly army ant attack. Shamed by Zazu's heroism, Cheka and his friends confessed their dishonesty to Mufasa, then explained the ruse to their parents. Afterward, they helped Zazu gather information around the Pride Lands.


Early life

Cheka was born to Pembe. He had a sister, Lulu. He lived in the Pride Lands. As a youngster, he often got told on by Zazu for various play schemes.[1]

Prank on Zazu

Why don't we pretend a terrible beast is sneaking around the Pride Lands! We can start a rumor about it. Zazu is sure to tell Mufasa. But there won't be any beast at all!
―Cheka to his friends[src]

Cheka walked to the water hole with his mother and sister. Upon reaching the water hole, the family of elephants ran into Nzee, an antelope, and her daughter, Nzuri. Pembe asked Nzee why she was not drinking from the pool, and the antelope admitted that Zazu had been troubling her lately. As the two began to complain about the majordomo, they were joined by Muwa and her son, Sukari.

As the conversation continued, Cheka told his friends that he, Sukari, Lulu, and Nzuri had been chasing some baby ostriches one day when Mufasa had come running up to them and chided them for being so mean. After the other animals voiced their agreement, Cheka suggested they give Zazu false information so he would get in trouble with Mufasa. Nzuri thought it sounded like fun, but Nzee declined Cheka's offer and decided to have a private council with the other adults.

While the three parents were discussing Zazu, the young animals gathered together in the water hole. Cheka filled his trunk up with water and splashed his friends. When he had their attention, he motioned for them to come closer. As they gathered around, Cheka announced to the group that he had made up a new game for them called "get-Zazu." Lulu tried to protest this new idea, but Cheka interrupted her and reminded her that the adults did not want them to have any fun. Nzuri agreed with Cheka and asked the young elephant how to play the game. He explained that they were going to make up stories to tell Zazu in order to get him in trouble with Mufasa.

Lulu expressed her concern, but Sukari assured her that no one would get hurt, and Nzuri told her that it was going to be fun. After his idea was accepted, Cheka suggested that they start a rumor about a mysterious and terrible beast roaming the Pride Lands. When the other animals gave their agreement, Cheka suggested they tell the baby ostriches the story, since they were always squawking and running around. He then filled his trunk with water and sprayed the other children.

The next day, Cheka and his friends told the baby ostriches how to play "get-Zazu." The plan went into motion, and the rumor spread like wildfire. It was not long before Zazu heard about it. For a while, there was total chaos, and Zazu and Mufasa were frantic. But eventually, the rumor died down, and everything went back to normal.

Early one morning, Cheka met with the other young animals by the water hole. They agreed that the beast story had not really worked out very well since Mufasa had not blamed Zazu for the wild goose chase. Cheka asked the others what they should do next. When no one could come up with a good suggestion, he decided to report someone missing. The others enthusiastically agreed, and he told them that they would report one of the little ostriches, Mayai, missing. He then instructed the young ostrich to hide on Lulu's back in the forest while they informed Zazu. After being told of Mayai's disappearance, Zazu fetched Mufasa, who helped assist in the search. After Lulu and Mayai revealed themselves to Mufasa and Zazu, Zazu was blamed for having caused yet another false alarm.

The young animals met again, and Cheka was pleased that Zazu was finally being recognized as a "loudspeaker." After much thought, the group decided to tell Zazu that a baby wildebeest had been attacked by a hyena. Cheka ran off to tell Zazu, who reported to Mufasa. The king and his majordomo went to the wildebeest herd but found that no one was missing.

Later, during an army ant attack, Sarabi took the Pride Landers, including Cheka and his sister, to safety on the high plains. After the army ants were destroyed, Zazu was hailed a hero.

Cheka and the other young animals felt guilty about all the trouble they had caused and eventually confessed to Mufasa. The king was furious but fair. He told the adults that their young ones had something to tell them, and the young animals hung their heads as Nzuri explained everything. She explained that after Zazu had saved the Pride Lands from certain destruction, they had realized the danger of discrediting someone, especially someone who was in charge of looking after others. At first, their parents were furious and wanted to punish them severely, but Mufasa thought otherwise. He told the young animals to help Zazu gather news about the Pride Lands so that they would be able to distinguish fact from fiction.[1]


Zazu told the story of Cheka and his friends to Mufasa's grandson, Kopa.[1]

Physical appearance

Cheka is larger than his sister, Lulu, as well as darker in coloring. His skin is blue-gray, and his eyes are brown with yellow sclerae. Additionally, he has two small tusks growing in on either side of his mouth.[1]

Personality and traits

Cheka: Listen, you guys, I've made up a game for us to play. It's called get-Zazu.
Lulu: But, Mama told us-
Cheka: Give me a break, Lulu. Since when do we wait for adults to do anything? They don't want us to have any fun.
—Cheka and Lulu[src]

Irresponsible and somewhat ignorant, Cheka is a troublemaker. He is much less cautious concerning disobedience than his sister, Lulu, as well as much more of a daredevil. He often overlooks the outcome of a given situation due to the fact that he finds amusement in taking advantage of others. Among his group of friends, he is the obvious leader as well as the main driving force behind the group's infamous antics and rumors. He displayed a sharp mind in coming up with plans to fool Zazu and took no shame in lying to his friends and family. However, he reformed after Zazu saved the Pride Lands.[1]



  • Cheka's name means "laugh" in Swahili.[2]


  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 McGuire, Leslie. How True, Zazu? (1994). ISBN: 0717283496.
  2. Online Swahili - English Dictionary. African Languages. Retrieved on September 1, 2020.