Higgs Raccoon's stories

Knut the polar bear, who gained international fame as debate raged over whether he should be hand-reared or euthanised, has died at age four.

Last Wednesday (March 2) saw the premier of OMG! With Peaches Geldof, a tabloid-style television program hosted by British model Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof.

The program, airing on Wednesdays at 9pm on the UK's ITV2, is about "people who live unique and often shocking lifestyles - Who are they? What makes them tick? Why do they live the way they do and is it causing them problems or a rewarding way to be?".

Episode 1 featured vampires and internet dating. Episode 2, to air next Wednesday (March 9), is to feature Furries, described in the OMG! episode guide as "people who have a strong appreciation for anthropomorphic animal characters and dress accordingly". The episode also features guest panelist Dom Joly, who Peaches described as "quite an embittered man".

OMG! With Peaches Geldof had previously contacted furries as part of their research phase. The interview is the subject of several threads on the UKFur forums (registration required).

Alan Berlin, better known in the furry fandom as Alan T. Panda, has withdrawn his guilty pleas in relation to charges that he sexually propositioned a 15-year-old boy online.

Berlin came to the attention of the media in May 2009, when he was first arrested for unlawful contact with a minor. According to investigators, Berlin, a resident of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, had been in communication with the teen for several weeks and had proposed travelling to the boy's home to have sex in the backyard, and in a shed on his parents' property.

In the furry fandom, Berlin was a fursuiter, babyfur, and "daddyfur/caretaker with a cub side". The media noted Berlin's connection to the fandom, as investigators believed that he and the boy had met on a furry internet site. When Berlin's home was searched, wolf and cat-like costumes were found, and it was alleged that Berlin had discussed dressing up in animal costumes as part of having sex with the boy.

Heidi the cross-eyed Virginia Opossum, resident of Leipzig Zoo in Germany, is to predict the winners of the 83rd Academy Awards.

After being found as an orphan, Heidi was raised in a North Carolina wildlife sanctuary, before being rehomed at Denmark's Odense Zoo and, later, Leipzig Zoo. She became an international sensation last December, after photographs of her cock-eyed visage were published in the German newspaper Bild. The images went viral, and led to a hit song ("Opossum Heidi Schielt" or "Opossum Heidi Peers"), Heidi's own Facebook account, and an upcoming line of plush toys.