Meet Bahati, The Real-Life Model For Simba In ‘The Lion King’ Remake

• Did you know that the adorable baby Simba was modeled after a real lion cub?
• Bahati the cub served as the model for the future King of the Pridelands in ‘The Lion King’.
• The cute lion cub is now gaining more fans – just like her movie counterpart.

One of the best things about the new Lion King film is undoubtedly the adorable young Simba. Not surprisingly, the real cub who served as the model for the future King of the Pridelands is just as adorable.

Bahati is a beautiful lion cub who lives at the Dallas Zoo. According to the zoo, they sent a video of the young female cub to Disney so the studio could base Simba’s movements and behaviors on the tiny lion. Not surprisingly, Bahati is now taking the internet by storm with her own adorable video.

Meet Bahati, who is pictured here with her mother.

Dallas Zoo shared a short video on Facebook showing Bahati when she was just a month old. The same video was reportedly sent to Disney to serve as a reference for artists working on bringing baby Simba to life.

“The world’s most famous lion cub may have gotten some of his moves from our very own Bahati! When Bahati was just a month old, we provided Disney with video of her movements for their animation team to use for motion and behavior reference when designing Simba in The Lion King. From walking on wobbly new legs, to licking milk droplets off of her face, we captured every moment, no matter how small.”

The video certainly worked considering that baby Simba looked like the real thing.

Bahati is more than just another lion cub. She is reportedly the first lion born in the zoo in over 43 years. In addition to that, she attracts several visitors who can’t get enough of her adorable shenanigans.

The Lion King is currently screening in theaters worldwide.