Tenuk is a character featured in the third season of the Disney Junior animated series, The Lion Guard. He is a Malayan tapir who interacts with the Lion Guard in a tropical forest.
Background
When the Lion Guard travels across the tropical forest, he socializes friendly with Beshte. He kindly introduces Beshte to his friends Seisou and Bambun. Like other tapirs in real life, Tenuk doesn't eat bugs just like what Ono said.
Role in the series
"Mama Binturong"
When the Lion Guard is on their way to the Tree of Life, Tenuk follows the group where Beshte mingles with Tenuk to know if there are a lot of plants for animals to eat in the tropical forest to which Tenuk explains the best plants the animals eat there are fruits, berries, and leaves. When Bunga tells Tenuk if the animals eat bugs to which Tenuk couldn't tell him, Ono tells him that tapirs are herbivores, meaning they don't eat insects. As the Guard stops, Tenuk introduces the Guard to his friends, a gibbon named Seisou and a mongoose named Bambun. Tenuk tells Beshte that he is welcome as long as he likes. He tells the group to let him know if they need anything from him. When Makini asks Tenuk for Tuliza, the tapir runs away in terror. Afterwards, Bambun and Seisou are concerned about what Makini did to the tapir to which it is known that the animals in the tropical forest are afraid of saying "Tuliza".
Tenuk later appears in the "You Best Not Mess With Mama" musical sequence where the tapir tries to eat Tuliza to which Mama Binturong takes the Tuliza from the tapir much to her greed. Afterwards, Tenuk's further fate is unknown in the present.
Trivia
- He is the only tapir in the Lion King franchise.
- Despite this, he is one of the few one-shot characters to have a limited amount of screen time.
- "Tenuk" means "tapir" in Malay, so he is named after his own species.
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