Jovian (lemur)
| Species | Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Born |
April 10, 1994 Duke Lemur Center, Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | November 10, 2014 (aged 20) Duke Lemur Center, Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Nation from | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Notable role | Zoboomafoo in Zoboomafoo |
| Years active | 1999–2001 |
| Parents | Nigel Flavia |
| Offspring | Ferdinand Gertrude Eleanor Matilda Gisela Wilhelmina Charlemagne |
| Cause of death | Renal failure |
Jovian (April 10, 1994 – November 10, 2014) was a Coquerel's sifaka, best known for mainly portraying Zoboomafoo in the series of the same name. Jovian sometimes shared the title role with his father.
Jovian was born on April 10, 1994, at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina to Nigel and Flavia, Coquerel's sifaka lemurs.
When Martin Kratt and his younger brother Chris wanted a lemur co-host for their TV show Zoboomafoo, Martin returned to the Duke Lemur Center, where he had previously volunteered while a student at Duke University. In 1997, the Kratts prepared for the show by filming Jovian and his parents jumping around an outdoor cage modelled on the stage set. Jovian appeared on the program from January 1999 to November 2001. Jovian would appear mostly in the opening segments, before transforming into a talking lemur puppet after eating his meals.
Zoboomafoo's voice was provided by veteran Canadian puppeteer Gord Robertson.
After appearing on the show, Jovian was credited with attracting 15,000 visitors to the Duke Lemur Center each year. As part of the center's breeding program, Jovian mated with a lemur named Pia. One of their offspring, Charlemagne, was taken to a different habitat after Jovian ejected him from the family group. Jovian became ill in the late winter of 2013. He lost a large amount of weight in June 2014 and would only eat in his cage. Pia became pregnant shortly before his death.
On November 10, 2014, Jovian died at his home of kidney failure at age 20, 5 months before his 21st birthday. News of his death spread quickly worldwide, with an outpouring of grief from the public and media industry. The first relative of Jovian to be born after his death was his granddaughter Isabella, born on January 25, 2015.
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