Heidi, fat, cross-eyed possum from NC, that Germans love
Heidi, the fat American possum that entertained Germans with her crossed eyes, died by lethal injection Wednesday, the Leipzig Zoo explained.
She was old by possum standards–pushing 3 1/2 years. Possums only live to 2 in the wild–maybe 4 in captivity. Her chubby profile–which is what caused her eyes to cross–couldn’t have helped living with arthritis.
She hit the big time last February when she moved to Leipzig from the Ebeltoft zoo. But she and her sister Naira originally came from a North Carolina wild animal sanctuary, where they were hand-raised as orphans. (Which one, I’m not sure.)
Technically she’s a Virginia possum (Didelphis virginiana)–which is what made her so exotic in Europe. She was part of the Gondwanaland tropical experience. Americans would just be creeped out if they found a fat, cross-eyed possum in their backyard. North Carolinians would probably just shoot her. Orphaned possum babies flood rehabbers all the time. They’re tricky to keep alive–you need to stick a gavage or tiny metal pipe down their throat. So the sisters’ path to international fame and Facebook stardom is really fantastic.
Read about the only possum Americans love
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