A cross-eyed opossum called Heidi, Germany’s latest animal sensation after Paul the Octopus, has been hired as a tipster for the Oscars, her zoo said yesterday.

Heidi will appear on America’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! show on ABC and will “select” her favoured movie from each category in the February 27 awards, Leipzig Zoo in Germany said.

“The filming will be done at Leipzig Zoo,” it said in a statement. All the revenues generated will go towards animal projects, and ABC has said it will make a donation to the zoo.

It was not immediately clear how Heidi will pick the film she likes best.

Heidi is thought to be two and a half years old, and was abandoned outside an animal shelter in North Carolina in the US. The zoo believes Heidi’s eye problem may have to do with her diet before she was abandoned, or because she is overweight, leading to fat deposits behind her eyes.

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