Zoboomafoo PBS Lemur Dead: Famous Lemur Passes Away From Kidney Failure, Stars Martin And Chris Kratt Mourn Loss

All the children of the late 1990s are mourning a pretty big loss today. TV character Zoboomafoo has passed away at age 20. For those not familiar with the character, he was a Coquerel sifaka lemur who starred on the series Zoboomafoo, which ran from 1999-2001 on PBS.

The lemur, whose real name was Jovian, died Monday, Nov. 10, after suffering from kidney failure, according to USA Today.

The furry animal starred on the series alongside brothers Martin and Chris Kratt during the show's 65-episode run.

You can watch the show's opening theme below:

Martin graduated from Duke University with a degree in zoology in 1989, and he and his brother got the idea to create the show to teach young children about wildlife.

Martin took to his Facebook page to mourn the loss of his furry pal.

"He'd jump in through the window and we'd feed him mangoes or garbanzo beans," the host recalled. "Sometimes he'd grab our noses with those soft sifaka hands."

The News and Observer is also reporting on the death of the jungle critter, saying he died at the Duke Lemur Center, a place he called home for the past two decades.

Educational specialist for the Duke Lemur Center, Chris Smith, explained that Jovian lived a healthy life, living five years longer than most lemurs are expected to.

"For Jovian to live to be 20 means that he lived a long, happy, healthy life," Smith explained.

The star of Zooboomafoo is survived by his seven children and four grandkids.

While the show is no longer easy to find on TV, it is still in syndication.

Readers: Did you ever watch the show? If so, what are your fondest memories? What is your favorite PBS kids show, if not Zoboomafoo? Commeny below!