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Hendrik Schmidt / AFP - Getty Images
A cross-eyed opossum named Heidi sits in her enclosure at a zoo in Leipzig, eastern Germany, on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Reuters reports: She's middle-aged, gray-haired and stays up all night. Still, Heidi the cross-eyed opossum is Germany's biggest media sensation, and she has not even made her debut at the Leipzig Zoo.
Yet Heidi appears to be the next in a line of animal celebrities in Germany. The 2-1/2-year-old opossum has a growing Facebook following pushing 80,000 fans, sparked a popular song on YouTube and will soon star as a plush toy. However, the public will not get their first glimpse of the opossum until July, when the zoo opens its tropical wildlife exhibit.
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 Heidi sensation was surprising and unplanned," said Leipzig zoo spokeswoman Maria Saegebarth. "It's great that there has been a lot interest, but we had nothing to do with the media hype." Read more
Find more images of creatures great and small in our weekly animals slideshow, Animal Tracks.
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I've always felt that the opossum was the most beautiful creature in the animal kingdom. They have such an intellectual look about them and beautiful facial features. The crossed eyes of this one projects the high aptitude and mental brilliance that these animals possess. Their ability to play dead and look so lifeless in the middle of a busy freeway is incredible. Their cleverness and keen sense of survival enables to flatten out like a pancake in disguise of no longer being alive. I picked one up off a road once. It had flattened its head and was omitting the odor of death in its effort to make me think it was dead - and it never moved a muscle. Beautiful, beautiful photo.
This photo is very popular with children.
This is a bad thing
Anyone, man or beast, who takes the amount of drugs this opossum has obviously taken, should not be held up as a role model.
Too many are unemployed and bored. Something must be done about this. I thought most of Germany was employed.
God created the Heavens and the Earth along with all types of animals big and small. It is rather comical but just know our maker has a purpose for this little animal. In truth God also has a purpose for each one of us for those who believe.
Here in Arkansas, we call a cross eyed opossum an easy meal.