Jim Fowler, Host Of ‘Mutual Of Omaha’s Kingdom,’ Dies At 89

Jim Fowler, longtime co-host of the Mutual Of Omaha’s Kingdom, has died. He was 89.

Fowler was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1930 and grew up on his family farm, where he developed his love for animals at an early age. He attended Earlham College and studied zoology and geology.

He worked at a raptor sanctuary in Florida, where he forged a reputation as an expert on predatory birds. He was the first man to successfully trap a harpy eagle.

His work reached fellow zoologist Marlin Perkins, who hosted a Chicago-based TV show called Zoo Parade, asked him to co-host the Wild Kingdom on NBC.

The show began in 1963, and the pair worked together all the way through Perkins’ retirement in 1985. Fowler would host the show alone for a few more years and would return during the show’s revival in 2002.

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He also appeared on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and served as the wildlife correspondent for the show.

Fowler was a longtime proponent of wildlife preservation and said that “the continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is ultimately important to the quality of life of humans.”

Fowler died at his home in Norwalk, Connecticut, and he is survived by his wife and their children.