First off,  I would like to say that this is my first article. I will be using logical reasoning, details from the movies, and facts about lions to communicate what I think.

This article (if you couldn't tell from the title) will be about Scar naming Kovu as his heir, since there seems to be a lot of discussion over it, and NOT Kovu's parentage. I might also touch on the age difference between Kovu and Kiara.

Anyone who has seen the Lion King II: Simba's Pride knows that Kovu is the heir named by Scar to succeed him in ruling the Pridelands. However, and this is where most complicatons begin, wouldn't this make him a lot older than Kiara?

No, not at all! Anyway, I'll come back to that later.

To make up for the age difference, a lot of people rationalize that Scar must have named Kovu heir before he was actually born. But, this theory contradicts what Kovu says in the scene where he and Kiara are stargazing. I can't recall the full quote, but it's something about how he thought of Scar as his father, even though they weren't blood related. I believe the quote is "He wasn't my father... but he was still a part of me". Even though Kovu doesn't directly say it, he expresses that Scar and him had some sort of relationship, however brief it might've been. So, Kovu was alive during Scar's reign.

Now to directly address the age difference between Kovu and Kiara. Let's assume Nala and Simba mated during "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", even though it wouldn't be directly shown / stated because it's a kids movie. If not, then I'm sure they mated shortly after Simba's return to the Pridelands. By this point, Kovu was already a cub, though probably still very young. Now, in nature, average length for lion pregnacy is about 3 1/2 months and lions reach mating age / adulthood at 3yrs. So Kovu is likely several months older than Kiara, if not older. You can also tell because of his mane tuff, and a mane usually starts developing at around two years of age. By the time him and Kiara meet, he's likely between 1-2years old. You can also tell because he's slightly more bulky than Kiara.

And! In this deleted scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leiPvxuNop4&list=HL1355707790&index=23 -- Vitani (who must be close in age to Kovu) is seen to have witnessed the ceremony celebrating Kiara's birth or whatever.

Now onto why Scar chose Kovu.

A lot of people seem to think that it's purely because he was a boy (vs. Vitani who's a girl). But I think that Scar noticed leadership qualities that Nuka and Vitani lack. Nuka is rather crazy, and he really just needs some love from his mother! He wants to be respected and he wants to be noticed, but he's not very clever or strong. Vitani is almost too obdient. She obeys every command from Zira up until the very end. She's more independent than Nuka, but idolizes Zira too much. In short, she's a follower, not a leader. Now there's Kovu, who disobeys his mother on several occassions, but he's loyal to what he believes in. Of course, Scar died to soon to really experience or notice any of this, but he probably noted that Kovu was strong and had good leadership qualities.

Hopefully, that helped clear up some confusion regarding Scar, Kovu, and Kiara!

Thanks for reading! :)