Vitani's Mama.

[Samaki]

Hey everyone (:
So I wanted to say something about Vitani's parentage, and maybe see if you guys agree with me.
Most people are going on with how Zira and Scar are her parents, but I don't think Zira is her mother, just the lioness who raised her. In TLK, I don't believe they ever stated who her parents were.
If you look closely, Vitani has blue eyes, which is a rare trait in the lions. Vitani does have an angular muzzle like Zira and Scar, but you see Scar and Zira have much darker fur than Vitani, and Vitani doesn't really resemble Zira much anyway.
In my opinion, I think it would be more reasonable to say that Vitani's mother is Nala, who has lighter fur and blue eyes.
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To back things up with my theory, there are some small details in the movie as well.
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In the first TLK, after Scar took over and a few years after when she had grown up, Nala ran away from the pridelands. She said it was to find help.
Now as far as we know, Nuka is actually Zira and Scar's son. (About Kovu, I don't really know, but in the movie it did say Scar wasn't his father)
Say Scar was looking for an heir, a son to take his place as king when his time was over, because Scar had genuinely thought Simba was dead as well as Mufasa. Scar's son Nuka, as everyone knows, is mentally challenged, making him unable to inherit and rule a kingdom. Logically, Scar would've taken a lioness from his Pride to accommodate him.
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In my theory, the lion he chose to make his queen was Nala. Yep, Nala. When she had her cub, Vitani, Scar was mad over the fact it was a daughter, and not a son. He threatened Nala and probably said he would kill her, as the pride didn't need anymore lionesses. To protect Vitani, Nala ran away with her to find help. She found Zira.
Zira gladly took the cub, as she had been wanting one of her own.
Nala then probably wandered far into the jungle to satisfy her hunger and thirst, since the pridelands were barren. There, she found Simba, and so on, continues the movie.
Simba became king. Shortly afterwards, he banished all the lions who associated along with Scar while he was ruling, to the outlands. This probably upset Nala, because Vitani had to go with Zira and the others.
Vitani grew up, ignorant to the fact that Nala was her mother. When she did grow up, no doubt she found out, and when she did, she was very upset about how her mother had abandoned her.
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Another detail from the 2nd TLK.
Vitani was obviously still holding the grudge on Nala. In the battle between the Outsiders and the Pridelanders, Vitani said, "Where's your pretty daughter, Nala," and if I remember right, it looked like Nala was caught off guard.
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It's just the theory I have, and to me it seems pretty reasonable.
Of course your opinion is yours and you don't have to agree with me (:
I admit it would put a little twist on the Vitani and Kopa thing, but they were both young, and Vitani never knew Nala was her mother until she had grown up. Also, it's kinda what lions do.

[Nala]

O.O...Wow. Definitely never thought about that, but you're right, that is a reasonable theory Samaki. I swear I learn something new everyday.^^

[» skye]

Wow, I've never thought of it that way either...

I've heard all kinds of things about Vitani's past like that she is from a different pride entirely who Zira found and raised. It is also possible that a lioness named Tama (who is featured in the lion king comics) could be her mother, since like Vitani, she is the only other character who has the tuft of fur on her head. And I guess in the Disney books, Zira is shown to have blue eyes like Vitani although in the movie they appear red. It also could be possible that Zira is her mother (since they share some similarities, such as the more angled face) and that she has an entirely different father who isn't Scar.

It's crazy that there is so much mystery surrounding Vitani's background. The theory you came up with really adds an unexpected twist, Samaki. I've never thought of it that way before. Now I really don't know what to think about Vitani's linage...

[Mutheru]

Ah well, me neither. Vitani's lineage is really hard to guess at, and there's not really any true proof. Kovu's lineage is also a small mystery as well. In the movie they did make it clear that Scar was not his father, but I don't know about Zira being his mother. She did say "you killed your own brother," in TLK2, but it may have been a word she added to make him feel worse. Nuka was in fact Zira and Scar's son.
(Oops, I thought I logged back into Samaki, but I guess not)

[» skye]

Yeah, Scar is definitely not Kovu's father. I wonder if Zira and Scar adopted him as their cub because if you look at Kovu, although he shares the same coloration and eye color as Scar, he is physically built more like Simba, Nala, and the other Pridelanders. This could suggest that he is the son of another Pridelander that Scar and Zira adopted during Scar's reign. This would also make sense because Zira mentions that Kovu was hand chosen by Scar, which could suggest that he selected him among other cubs to raise him as his own son. If this was the case, I'm sure Zira would want Kovu to believe that she was his true mother which could explain why she tells him he killed his own brother at Nuka's death.

[Raivu]

Oh yes, that does make a lot of sense. Hadn't really thought of that either. Well, everything considered, there must've been some inbreeding, little and vague, throughout the tlk prides, but yes. It is generally the way lions go in nature, but it doesn't prove to be too much of a problem. Everyone's just a smidge related. Just a tiny bit.