Pumbaa is a loving, open-hearted character who sometimes shows childlike naivety and innocence that is sometimes confused for stupidity. Though Timon would say otherwise, Pumbaa is the actual brains of the outfit, having both common sense and impressive knowledge of things from nature to science, which he often tries to teach the more dim-witted Timon, but to no faithful avail. Even so, Pumbaa's childish nature sets the two apart. Whilst Timon can be selfish and greedy, he is still, overall, more mature than Pumbaa, thus explaining why he is the de facto leader of the duo, along with the fact that Pumbaa can be very absent-minded at times. Not only that, Pumbaa is not without his stereotypical dim-witted moments. Despite his history of being abandoned and possibly even mistreated due to his foul smell, Pumbaa has a strong sense of loyalty and devotion towards his friends, mainly seen when Timon's selfishness gets him into trouble despite Pumbaa's warnings, thus resulting in the warthog having to save the day, still willing to call Timon his closest companion.