Strange

Heidi the Cross-Eyed Opossum Shoots to Internet Fame

by Jordan Yerman | January 13, 2011 at 09:16 am

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Heidi the Cross-Eyed Opossum Is Big in Germany... and Beyond

If you're an opossum in a zoo, it helps to have a gimmick. Heidi the cross-eyed opossum, as her name suggest, has just such a thing. Heidi the opossum has not even made her debut at Leipzig Zoo in Germany, but the cross-eyed critter is already approaching levels of animal fame previously enjoyed by Paul the Psychic Octopus (who is no longer with us) and Knut the Polar Bear (now in his awkward phase).

The Leipzig Zoo crew can't precisely explain why Heidi the Opossum is cross-eyed, but they know she'd be toast if left out in the wild. Heidi makes her public debut in Summer 2011. Save the date if you're an opossum tourist.

Like David Hasselhoff, Heidi the Cross-Eyed Opossum is an American who made it big in Germany, though Heidi and her sister Naira spent some time in Denmark first. The opossum sisters call North Carolina home.

The zoo had no inkling of what a cause-celebre the cross-eyed opossum would become when Heidi along with her sister, Naira, and a male opossum arrived from a zoo in Denmark in May.

The reason for Heidi's crossed eyes is unclear, but zoo officials speculate that it might be because of fat deposits behind her eyes, caused by a bad diet early in life.

The animal, originally from Denmark, is not your classic beauty. Sporting gray hair, freckled ears, a pointy nose and white whiskers, she's a frisky sight to behold. And it's her eye-sight that has its hold on German and world media alike.