than their share. From that point, I realised that most hyenas actually do respect the Circle of Life and that they should only be judged within and not by their spots, or physical appearance.

The other instance was when we thought a clan of hyenas had invaded aardvarks' dens in the night and I used the Roar of the Elders to get them to leave. Within some days later, the Pride Lands became overpopulated with termites, and when we consulted with Dad about this, he told us that aardwolves control termite infestation and that they look like hyenas. He also said that aardwolves like to hang around aardvark dens. That explained it all, and so we went after them in the Outlands, told them the situation, and brought them back into the Pride Lands. After I realised that we made a mistake by observation failure and not understanding their instincts.

So it is important to understand the natural instincts and desires of both the opposition and your allies so that you can plan ahead how you will aid or combat them efficiently. Besthe and Ono are particularly helpful in this area, where The Keenest of Sight uses his wide knowledge to inform and advise us, and The Strongest has the know of almost the entire Pride Lands population. Therefore we know our allies from our enemies.

You all began as friends before you joined the Guard, and now you work alongside each other as colleagues. Did you believe that you could make this work and do you think, in your honest opinion, there are existing differences between a professional relationship and friendship?

Ono: It certainly is not easy to co-exist when friends have their kinship put to the test when going in to business together. Working in a team environment means that you have to come to finalised agreements on decisions and actions through unanimous consent, and not everybody will necessarily agree due to conflicting ideologies or theoretical frameworks. However, once there is a majority vote on a decision, the motion will pass and it must go ahead. Even so, the one or few who opposed may protest to the point where bad arguments may arise and then either the team may decide to let that one or couple of individuals go or they quit because neither can co-exist as either colleagues or friends, or even both. Otherwise, they may feel in their heart that their friendship with the others is safer when not working together because of certain differences between each other.

The thing is, as a team, you have to learn to accept certain decisions and go ahead with them. If that particular decision is the smartest and wisest option, then it must be done in order to achieve the best outcome possible. You may not always like it at first, but if it brings promising results in the end, you will be thankful for it. That is also where the importance of patience comes in: By anticipating the ongoing progress of a decision, you will see the ongoing positive or negative effects that it presents, and therefore acknowledge for certain whether or not that initial decision was the right one to make in the end.

In our case, as the team leader, Kion makes all the decisions and we all agree and follow his order. We will give him assistance in decision-making when he requests it or needs it, but he is mature enough to be a good leader. We trust him because he thinks quickly and always knows the smartest options to take, and so our tasks get completed well. King Simba would not have deemed Kion fit to lead if he didn't believe his son could handle the pressure of the responsibility. He [Kion] also understands our needs and instincts, and always offers a help in hand whenever we need it. He is and always has been a good friend and leader, and we could not be happier to work under him.

Fuli: I think we have shown that friendships and working relationships can indeed work together if you really try to put the effort in to brainstorming how you can function your actions and decisions fairly without conflicting debate. That includes appreciating each other's respective ideologies and acknowledging their efforts even when their proposals were rejected over more favoured ones. By reasoning with each other over both accepted and rejected decisions in a civilised manner, everyone understands the care factor within the group and that there is a comfortable camaraderie to be able to make the unit work.

Beshte: Considering that we were already friends for a few years before we united as a team and we understood and appreciated each other well, we all became like extended family. Sure, different animals have individual instincts, intentions, ideas, physical abilities, biological components, genetic efficiencies or deficiencies, defence mechanisms, etcetera. But the fact is, we are all special in our own way and we can learn from one another so as to strengthen the unity that all animals within the Circle of Life hold dear. Therefore, by coming closer and working together, we gain a chance to hone our seperate skills and educate each other about respect, courage, honour, trust, effective teamwork, and the importance of life. I personally believe that our friendship has strengthened since we became the Lion Guard, and no matter what happens, I will always consider these unique animals my brothers and sister in arms.

Bunga: I never doubted, or even thought, that our friendships were challenged when we joined together. We all go a long way back, and because we were going to be together more often, it was going to be an even more enjoyable experience for us in helping our allies and fighting for justice. Serving and protecting is doing good and it makes you feel even greater at heart. It really brings out the best of a true animal.

Kion: It was probably true when Rafiki acknowledged that our Lion Guard was different to the others in more than being the first one to consist of animals other than Lions. He said that it was different because we were all friends. Well, that may be, but is that somehow saying that the previous Lion Guards were only considered as colleagues and not friends? I don't know the entire history of the Lion Guard, but I very much doubt they had been able to function well as working colleagues if they could not put their respective differences aside and learn to co-operate to the point of developing an important friendship. I say "important" because if you do not get along and work together to understand and appreciate each other's differences and values, the team will be worth nothing in the end.

The late Scar's Lion Guard is the perfect example. Scar only cared about himself and made orders on his team members to perform evil deeds, only to get his members to refuse and therefore get killed by their leader out of anger of their disobedience. Scar then lost the power of the Roar of the Elders, and since then, the Guard became nonexistent for years. And when he usurped the throne after Mufasa passed away and my dad was exiled, there was no one to stop the hardships and sufferings that the Pride Lands and its inhabitants were forced to endure for a long time under Scar's dark reign.

That example of corruption shows that not only can a disfunctional team cause a bad ending, but can also initiate a worse outcome.

When you enter into a team environment, both building and maintaining friendships can work either way. Either you are existing friends and you know each other well enough to trust them to perform their duty, or you meet for the first time when coming together and learn about each other on the run. This way, you understand each other's strengths and weaknesses as well as their values and persona. Therefore you attain a better idea of how you can make the team function efficiently, and how to create a friendly and comfortable culture so that they can feel at home.

I believe that a team will never be defined as a winning group, but as something that you have to earn and belong to. It is a place where you come together as one and build a sense of loyalty and trust among each individual to then creating a kinship - thus finding your true belonging in the world. A team can either make or break a friendship, but it is a matter of setting your mind in gear and educating each other on how to make it work. A true team always consists of hardworking and loyal friends who set out to do what is right and find their place in the Circle of Life.

Are you enjoying your duty as defenders and do you have any idea how long you want to continue doing this job?

Ono: It is never easy to say whether you enjoy your duty or not because it can be a very committed job and you will find that you will have to do certain tasks that you do not necessarily enjoy, put yourself at risk when needed, and work overtime just to make ends meet. Just because you are good at something does not always mean that you enjoy everything that comes with it. But once you have your mind set on a task, your focus on performing well to complete it just allows you to just eliminate the hate or love of duty altogether. That psychological focus on the most important priority doesn't allow you to think about other things of a lesser priority, and so it keeps you on your toes, or claws. Then once you see the results of your hard work, you can feel satisfied for what you have achieved, and therefore, in a way, your duty can be enjoyable in that sense.

I am more than happy to continue my line of duty for as long as possible, until either I cannot do it anymore or when it is time for the next successor to take my place. I do enjoy what I do because I care about preservation and conservation as well as all the animals who respect the Circle of Life, and I want to keep helping them for as long as it takes.

Fuli: To be totally honest, I do enjoy my duty because I like a good battle against the common enemy and it does feel good to help your allies. They have done a lot to help me