Donkey Kong (or DK or just Donkey for short or full name Donkey Kong III) is the main protagonist of the Donkey Kong series. He is the carefree, lazy, dumb, yet trustworthy hero of Donkey Kong Island. He is also part of the Mario Kart Series.

Though known as Donkey Kong, he is actually a descendant of the original Donkey Kong, and successor after he later retired after his numerous defeats at hands of Mario.

The games originally described DK as Cranky's grandson. Donkey Kong 64 changed this to being his son, making their specific relationship uncertain until Donkey Kong Country Returns when Cranky Kong is confirmed to be Donkey Kong's grandfather.

The character Donkey Kong first appeared in the game of the same name, where he acted as the main antagonist; however, sometime after his defeat, he retired (as mentioned above) and eventually let his age get to him and took on the name Cranky Kong.

The current Donkey Kong, designed by Rare, is a carefree simian who spends his days collecting Bananas and spending time with his friends and family, particularly his nephew and best friend, Diddy Kong. Donkey Kong is very protective of his island and his Banana Hoard, and because of this, he is always ready to protect them from those who would attempt to steal or do harm to either. The original Donkey Kong's character design was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the Donkey Kong arcade game. As seen in the Mario Vs Donkey Kong Series, Donkey Kong always seems to be after Pauline as he has an unrequited crush on her.

He is currently voiced by Takashi Nagasako in most of the games as of 2004.