"The tallest mallard duck to have ever lived (since records began) known as 'Long Boi.' He lives on the campus of the University of York, England. He stands just over 1m tall (3.5ft)."
A duck called "Long Boi," who lives on a college campus in the UK, has gone viral on Twitter after someone posted a photo of the animal. People were amazed by just how long Long Boi is.
Look at the size of this lad Absolute unit https://t.co/z9LQrpg2wF
According to Snopes, the Twitter user got a few facts wrong. Long Boi is not the tallest mallard duck, as he is a cross between a mallard and an Indian Runner duck. The website says that he is the average height of an Indian Runner duck, and appears taller as he is often photographed next to smaller, average-size mallard ducks.
He has been ranked the most popular waterfowl by another UK university.
🦆 ALL HAIL LONG BOI 🦆 The final results: Long Boi - 2,182 Lancaster Ducks - 2,090 SWANsea Swans - 1,048 Cath the OU Duck - 774 See the full table at https://t.co/WahPdOcNgq
The duck is so well liked that two biology students at the University of York created an Instagram page for Long Boi. They told BuzzFeed News they created the account after seeing him around on campus and feeding him for a while.
"We believe he had been abandoned/released on campus as an unwanted pet," they said. They said Long Boi didn't initially fit in with the other ducks.
The students said they made the account because they just wanted somewhere to share the photos they took of Long Boi.
"Then he started to become quite famous just on campus. He has a lot of fans here at York," they said, adding people often submit photos to be used.
The love for Long Boi has even led to people looking for the duck when they are visiting on university open days.
Long Boi lives free range on the campus, with all the other waterfowl. The students said the university has a dedicated grounds team that makes sure that all the ducks and geese are healthy and well fed.
"Then we also have a big student population that like to feed the birds. ... Our campus shop even stocks birdseed. We really do love our ducks here at York," they said.
Online people are loving Long Boi and making memes.
Long Boi is playing for the wrong ducks
Long Boi: a work of art!
The tallest mallard duck (long boi) is trending and this is the only two images that compare right now.
Correction: Long Boi did not receive an honorary degree. A previous version of the story said he did.