Although King K. Rool's motivation for stealing Donkey Kong's banana hoard has never been officially confirmed, two theories have been brought up by former Rare employee Leigh Loveday: either K. Rool steals them because he likes bananas, or he wants Donkey Kong to starve to death so that K. Rool can occupy his treehouse.

The former theory is backed up by the instruction manual for Donkey Kong Country stating that the Kremlings steal the bananas for their rich nutritional value in potassium and Vitamin A, and by artwork drawn by Steve Mayles on Playtonic Games's Twitter page, which shows K. Rool sitting next to Gruntilda from Banjo-Kazooie on a pile of bananas while reading a book titled "101 Banana Recipes."

The latter theory is only supported by the game DK: Jungle Climber where K. Rool mentions how much he despises bananas.