Donkey Kong, also known as DK, is a male gorilla, the main protagonist of the Donkey Kong franchise, and the leader of the DK crew. Over the years, Nintendo has  been ambiguous about just how many Donkey Kongs there have been. The  first character named Donkey Kong appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong and its sequels, serving as the villain. In 1994's Donkey Kong Country,  a new, different-looking Donkey Kong was introduced, said to be the  grandson of the original arcade character, who was now the elderly  Cranky Kong. In subsequent games, however, the likeness of the "new"  Donkey Kong is often used in place of that of the "old" Donkey Kong in  games such as Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Game and Watch Gallery (in the title screen only), and Yoshi's Island DS,  in which Mario and DK are both babies. However, the modern DK being the  same age as Mario would be anachronistic, as Mario is portrayed as  significantly older in age than the original Donkey Kong's offspring in Donkey Kong Jr.