德国著名斗鸡眼负鼠被执行安乐死

An opossum that gained worldwide fame for its comedic cross-eyed looks has been put to sleep after its health deteriorated, Leipzig Zoo said Wednesday.

德国莱比锡动物园周三宣布，因斗鸡眼而出名的可爱负鼠在健康状况日益恶化的情况下被执行安乐死。

The female opossum, called Heidi, became a German media sensation after her picture was published in late 2010 and had more than 330,000 fans on Facebook.

在2010年下半年照片曝光后，这只被称为Heidi的母负鼠成为德国媒体竞相追逐的对象，并且在Facebook上吸引了33万粉丝。

According to the zoo's website, she and a sister were probably born in May 2008. The pair were found as orphans and raised in a wild animal sanctuary in North Carolina before moving to a zoo in Denmark and eventually arriving in Leipzig in May last year.

据该动物园网站介绍，这只负鼠和妹妹大约出生于2008年5月，它们被发现时已成为孤儿，被收容于北卡罗来纳州野生动物收养所，之后被送入丹麦的一个动物园，最后于去年5月被送入莱比锡动物园。

Leipzig Zoo released a statement saying: "Heidi, our cross-eyed opossum, has closed her eyes forever today. She passed away having shown typical symptoms of her old age and having severely suffered from arthrosis.

莱比锡动物园发表一项声明称：“Heidi，我们的斗鸡眼负鼠已经于今日早上永远地闭上了双眼。她因为年老体衰出现了各种病症，并常年遭受关节炎的痛苦。”

"This illness has made it painful for her to move over the last couple of weeks and Heidi was treated with vitamins and other medicine. Following a short-lived improvement of her condition, her general state of health deteriorated over the last days despite continuous efforts by the veterinarians."

“关节炎使它最近几周行动迟缓，我们给它吃了维生素和其它药物。虽然在兽医的治疗下它的病情有短暂缓解，但它的身体状况仍在最近几天迅速恶化下去。”

Heidi had to be put to sleep avoid her suffering pain, in accordance with animal welfare guidelines, the zoo said.

动物园宣称：根据动物福利条例，为了避免让Heidi再遭受痛苦，我们决定对它实行安乐死。

The cause of Heidi's profoundly crossed eyes remains a mystery, although the zoo's website suggests the way she was fed when she was hand-reared in the United States may have played a role -- as well as the fact she was overweight, which led to "fatty deposits behind the eyes which are pressing the eyeballs slightly out of the eye sockets."

Heidi成为斗鸡眼的原因尚不得而知，虽然动物园网站上暗示这可能与其在美国被人工喂养有关，另外它体重超重，导致“脂肪沉积在双眼周围，压迫眼球稍微突出眼眶”。

Her sister, named Naira, is also cross-eyed but the zoo's third opossum, a male called Teddy, lacks their distinctive looks.

它的妹妹Naira同样是斗鸡眼，但动物园的另外一只雄性负鼠Teddy却没有跟它们一样成为斗鸡眼。

Opossums, a type of marsupial found in North and South America, have a maximum life expectancy of four to five years, the zoo's website says.

据该动物园网站介绍负鼠是一种生活在北美和南美的有袋类动物，其生命周期最长可达4-5年。