Opossum oracle?
February 12, 2011
Germany's latest animal celebrity, Heidi the cross-eyed opossum, is to play a leading role in this year's Academy Awards ceremony - predicting this year's Oscar winners.
Heidi, who has become a German media sensation with 300,000 fans on Facebook, is set to appear on US television making predictions of the winners.
Television producers will be hoping that she can emulate the success of World Cup Oracle Paul the Octopus, who correctly predicted the outcome of all seven German games at last year's tournament in South Africa.
Leipzig Zoo resident Heidi is set to appear on the US channel ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Show" as the awards take place on February 27, zoo director Joerg Junghold revealed.
"We took a long time to come to a decision. What was important for us was the animal's welfare," Junghold said.
Filming on location
The beloved animal star will "select" her favored movie from each category, although it remains unclear exactly how she will make her choice.
US-born Heidi will not be heading home to take part in the show, with all filming due to take place at the zoo itself.
Heidi, believed to be two-and-a-half years old, was found outside an animal shelter in North Carolina and has been at Leipzig Zoo since May.
Her popularity echoes that of Knut the polar bear, who as a cub at Berlin Zoo attracted international media attention.
Following his own string of successful predictions, Paul the Octopus died from natural causes in October last year.
Author: Richard Connor (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Kyle James