The world lost a star today.
Jovian, the Coquerel’s sifaka lemur who was the star of the television show Zoboomafoo, has died. According to USA Today, Jovian died from kidney failure on Monday at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina. He was 20 years old, which is pretty young for a lemur. The average lifespan of lemur in captivity is 30 years.
On Zoboomafoo, a PBS wildlife show for preschoolers, Jovian would star in 65 episodes, playing the real-life lemur. When the camera would cut to a close up, it was usually a lemur puppet. Of course, this needs no explaining for children of the Millennium, or their parents. In fact, thousands of people have taken to Twitter to remember their beloved friend.
And while we remember him as a celebrity, the folks over at the Duke Lemur Center, remember Jovian as a group leader and caring father of 12 sifakas, two partners, and four grandchildren. “He was great to work with,” said Martin Kratt, a 1989 Duke graduate who had volunteered at the Lemur Center as a student. “He’d jump in through the window and we’d feed him mangoes or garbanzo beans. Sometimes he’d grab our noses with those soft sifaka hands.”
In case you don’t know, lemurs are native to Madagascar. Lemurs are the smallest of all primates, and there are 103 species. Unfortunately, it’s been estimated that nearly 90% of lemurs are on the verge of extinction, making them one of the most threatened animals on Earth. This is primarily caused by deforestation of their habit in Madagascar.
So while the world lost one lemur this week, there is opportunity to save others. To learn more, head over to Azafady.
