Death of Heidi the Cross-Eyed Opossum: Fans Flood Twitter (PHOTO)
The death of Heidi, the famous cross-eyed opossum from Germany, has caused fans to flood Twitter with condolences.
The animal caught the media’s attention in 2010 with her crossed eyes, becoming an internet sensation. She appeared on the “Jimmy Kimmel Show” that year and correctly predicted two winners of last year’s Oscars Awards. Heidi has over 300,000 friends on Facebook, and had lived at a zoo in Leipzig, Germany.
After weeks of deteriorating health and arthritis pain, zoo officials decided to euthanize the three-and-a-half-year-old marsupial.
“We carried out every possible test and treatment,” said zoo director Joerg Junhold in a statement Thursday. “We made the final decision… to relieve the animal from suffering and pain.”
“Heidi Opossum” became a trending topic on Twitter only minutes after her death was announced.
Dr. Christian Jessen wrote on Twitter, “Sad day today. Poor little Heidi the cross eyed opossum from Berlin zoo has been put down due 2 health. I’m distraught, she was so cute!”
“RIP Heidi: Opossum with crossed eyes warmed hearts worldwide,” wrote Twitter user Nikolai.
“This is tragic… and adorable,” said Kate.
Even those who were unfamiliar with Heidi’s fame until after her death expressed their sorrow, such as Ivette, who wrote on Twitter: “I don’t even like opossums, but awww I found this one cute- cross-eyes opossum Heidi, dies.”
Other Twitter users joked about the media’s focus on the furry celebrity.
“Why do the good ones die so young?” Wrote Justin.
Twitter user Laura wrote, “Sad about Heidi. She died of old age and overabundance of cuteness.”
Heidi’s well-known crossed eyes were said by experts to be a possible result of early malnutrition, or possibly because of being overweight.
