parts of Lion King (stage) don't make sense

The Lion King was amazing! The dancing, costumes/puppets, lighting effects, etc. However there were a few things that didn’t make sense to me. (Don’t read on unless you have seen the show) First, at the end of “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” when the guy in blue who is doing the voice and puppeteering for Zazu slides through the curtain, and he says, “Where’s my bird?!” it is very funny, but it doesn’t make sense, because the puppeteer is not a character in the show. He doesn’t exist! Then, when Mufasa is yelling at Simba about going to the dark elephant graveyard, he takes off his lion head. Why?