Heidi The Cross-Eyed Opossum Dies

It’s a sad day in the animal kingdom. Heidi the cross-eyed opossum passed away earlier this week at the Leipzig Zoo. Heidi was put to sleep by a veterinarian. She was 3 and a half years old.

Heidi the opossum gained international fame because of her cute crossed eyes. She picked Oscar winners, had merchandise, and had her own Facebook page with more than 330,000 fans.

The zoo wrote on its website (Translated with the help of Google):

“The cross-eyed opossum Heidi has closed her eyes forever. After several weeks of discomfort from arthritis, Heidi opossum was treated with vitamins and supplements. After a temporary improvement, the 3.5 year old opossum’s health deteriorated so the animal has been euthanized.”

Leipzig Zoo Director Joerg Junholdsaid in the statement:

“We did everything possible to find the cause of her immobility.”

Reuters reports that Heidi the Opossum is the third German animal celebrity to pass away this year. Knut the polar bear died in March, and Paul the Octopus, who became a superstar in 2010 after correctly predicting several World Cup games, died earlier this year.

Here’s a video from the Associated Press:

Did you know about Heidi the cross-eyed opossum before she died? Will you be mourning Germany’s most recent animal celebrity to pass away?