A cross-eyed eyra - or wild cat - named Frank living at a German zoo near Leipzig is about to rob attention from Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum living only 15 miles away. Will they both become superstars?
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Germany's famous cross-eyed opossum, Heidi, has competition on her hands, as another German zoo tries to steal her limelight by introducing their cross-eyed star to the public.
Frank, the eyra or jaguarundi, which is a type of wild cat, has been living in a zoo in Delitzsch, a town north of Leipzig, for the last three years.
He came to Delitzsch from the western city of Dortmund in 2008.
Yet it is not Frank's bright red hair that is catching visitors' attention but rather his slightly unusual look.
Frank is the second cross-eyed animal to become a superstar after opossum Heidi from nearby Leipzig became an international sensation in December last year.
Heidi has even had offers from Hollywood and is expected to predict winners of the Academy Awards on U.S. television.
Frank, however, has not yet had such an opportunity put to him.
[Katrin Ernst, Head of Delitzsch Zoo]:
"No, we don't have any offers from Hollywood yet and no cuddly toy manufacturers have asked yet either if they can produce a cross-eyed Frank. We are just waiting to see what happens. I don't think we are going to get in any extra machinery for this but we are of course open to all enquiries and we will not be averse to someone getting in touch and wanting to perhaps, let's say produce little chocolate eyras."
Unlike Heidi, whose excessive weight has been reported as the source of her eye problem, the root of Frank's eye defect has not yet been determined.
[Katrin Ernst, Head of Delitzsch Zoo]:
"We can't say for sure. We are assuming that he has always been cross-eyed. No one has ever really asked about it. We can't say exactly why it has happened."
So it certainly isn't laziness on Frank's part which is stopping him from climbing trees, as animals of his species would normally do, as seeing double at that height would be enough to put anyone off.
