ANITA TENSION
Special to The Lampoon
How do we define a hero? Is a hero a courageous person? Is a hero someone who overcomes insurmountable odds due to their stalwart moral convictions? Or, is a hero a large strepsirrhine primate of the family Lemuridae?
We, at The Lampoon, think that is exactly what a hero is.
And so it is with the heaviest of hearts that we note the passing of esteemed actor, educator and lemur Jovian, better known as Zoboo, who died peacefully of kidney failure in his sleep last Monday.
Jovian, eminent star of PBS’s Zoboomafoo, an educational program exploring the animal kingdom, was a respected expert on nature and climate change, who had received numerous honorary doctorates from several respected universities due to his advocacy for climate reform.
The ring-tailed lemur is an endangered species, despite what experts say is an “overwhelming enthusiasm” for reproducing in captivity. This contradiction is due largely to the continued destruction of their rainforest climate, which the resolute and hard-working Jovian dedicated his life to combatting.
“I think Jovian’s acting work spoke to us all,” said Andrew Levy, Jovian’s attorney and executor of his impressive estate. “His career resonates with age-old questions. What is lemur-kind’s place in the grand scheme of things? How should a lemur be? Is there any way I could get more mangos, garbanzo beans and bugs?”
Jovian was also a “loving and capable father,” who sired many hardy and virile sons, who themselves produced several equally distinguished lemurs.