Mugly

Mugly is the first boss of Donkey Kong Country Returns and its Nintendo 3DS remake, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. Mugly is fought by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong at the end of the Jungle world in the boss level, Mugly's Mound, where he is hypnotized by Kalimba. Mugly is a distant relative of a later boss, Thugly.

Physical description
Mugly is a four-legged, yellow reptilian monster. He has a large mouth with a few teeth, each being crooked, and a large tongue. Mugly has two lazy eyes and red spikes on his back, which he can retract at will. During the second phase of the battle, Mugly turns orange, and in the third and final phase, he turns from orange to red. Mugly has a target-like design on his back, which indicates his vulnerable spot that the Kongs must jump on while Mugly's spikes are retracted.

Attacks
Mugly has two basic attacks: one is running from one side of the arena to the next with his mouth open, while the other is jumping high and attempting to land down onto Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. During both attacks, Mugly's spikes are retracted, allowing the Kongs to do a jump attack onto him.

Mugly moves quicker when he turns orange, even moreso when he is red. In both phases, when Mugly performs a high jump and lands, he generates a large shockwave. While either orange or red, if the Kongs avoid Mugly as he charges at them, he may hit into a wall, causing Mugly to become dizzy temporarily and giving the Kongs a brief opportunity to jump onto Mugly. Sometimes Mugly walks to the other side of the arena with his back arched and his spikes extended, but sometimes his spikes are retracted, leaving his weakspot exposed to attack unless he was hit the third and sixth time.

When Mugly runs into the Kongs with his mouth open, he eats them and chews on them for a few seconds before spitting them out, causing the Kongs to lose a heart. When Mugly's mouth is open, Diddy Kong can shoot peanuts into Mugly's mouth and after a certain amount of peanuts are eaten, Mugly stops to chew on the peanuts for a few seconds, leaving his weakspot exposed. (Mugly's mouth also opens in the first phase when jumping, but keeps it shut in the second and third phase).

Trivia

 * Two statues of Mugly can be seen in the background of Jungle Hijinxs, which release bananas that are required to obtain a Puzzle Piece.
 * The same statues can be seen in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, in the background of the Homecoming Hijinxs level. Mugly makes another cameo, frozen solid, in the diorama of Donkey Kong Island.