It turns out that not every duck is born alike, this one is absolutely huge.
This duck stands out from the rest of his mallard peers, literally and figuratively.
The majestic-looking animal, who resides at the University of York, was also given the apt name of ‘Long Boi’ and measures 28 inches tall. His width is about the same as a regular duck, and you’d actually start to believe that Long Boi is cross-bred with a giraffe.
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It turns out that Long Boi is actually a hybrid of the Indian Runner and mallard duck breeds.
However, something definitely went wrong with his genetic makeup, causing the spur of growth to gigantism.
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When you take a look at pictures of Long Boi, all the other ducks simply look like dwarves.
Of course, it didn’t take long before this two-footed animal became famous and even a sightseeing attraction for many. Luckily, he remains on the University Campus, so he pretty much only gets attention from students and academic personnel, who seem to love this guy.
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Nobody knows a lot about Long Boi’s origin story.
He simply appeared on the campus parks one day and has been living there ever since. Even though Long Boi’s popularity only blew up recently, the duck has actually been there since 2019.
There are a couple of university students who like to keep an eye on him and make sure he’s comfortable, and they even run an Instagram account for the long duck. You can follow all of his adventures at @longboiyork.
At the moment, there are almost 25,000 people following the duck’s Instagram account. He’s becoming quite the social media influencer!
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“Meet Long boi! Resident mallard/Indian runner duck @ UoY. Looks a bit different but kind at heart & a clever boi,” his biography description reads.
Mr. Long Boi even has his own merchandise.
You read that right, this large duck has its own fan club and people proudly want to wear his merch. Stickers, water bottles, notebooks, magnets, mugs, t-shirts – long boi can take over your daily life if you want him to.
Among the students, the long duck has a pretty high joke and meme value, which is also reflected in the available merch.
A biologist at the university even wrote a paper about the duck, discussing its characteristics and (dis)advantages compared to his peers.
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“If you are part of the University of York and don’t know who the longest of all ducks is, here is a brief introduction. Longboi is a duck residing on Campus West and is a hybrid of a typical mallard duck and an Indian Runner duck. He is beloved by all, from students, and staff to visitors of the University. He is easy to spot due to his distinctive Indian Runner shape and size; long neck, tall posture, and characteristic run,” Natalia Kubala wrote.
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The biologist discussed both duck breeds in a literature review, but they haven’t studied or experimented on long boi himself as there’s really no need. The paper was more out of interest than anything else.
“Longboi is a fantastic member of the University’s diverse and dynamic wildlife and deserves his celebrity status as a rare member of the Indian Runner Duck community.”
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Long Boi recently went viral on Twitter and people just couldn’t believe how tall he was.
Even still, his size is actually quite regular for the Indian Runner duck breed.
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Of course, Long Boi remains a very special resident of the student campus and is rightfully treated as a superstar over there.
Check out a cute video of Long Boi wooing a student below!
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Since Long Boi is trending, here's me feeding him last term!#longboi pic.twitter.com/WUItKyIza9
— Chloe 💜 (@chloe_jane_w) April 29, 2021
