Fears are growing for York’s most famous waterfowl.
Long Boi has been missing from the University of York campus for weeks.
University news source The Tab broke the story today.
They said students had grown worried after not seeing the duck, famous for its elongated neck, for well over a month.
Long Boi has his own Instagram account with 56K followers. Account admin Zoe Duffin posted tonight:
“As many of you will be aware from the recent news, Long Boi has not been seen on campus for a number of weeks. This is very worrying and not like Long Boi, who can almost always be found in his favourite spot by the lake on Campus West.
“The last known sighting of Long Boi was sometime around mid-March – this is the longest that he has been absent since first appearing on campus in early 2019.
“Long Boi’s age is unknown and he has never gone missing like this before. Very sadly, this disappearance suggests a strong possibility that Long Boi may have passed away.
“It is unclear how or exactly when this may have happened, and we can only hope that if Long Boi really is gone, his passing was peaceful.
“Any information on sightings of Long Boi or his last known location would be incredibly useful in working out what may have happened.”
The mallard-Indian runner cross arrived on campus in 2019 and went viral after a Reddit post incorrectly described him as “the tallest mallard duck to have ever lived… over 1m tall”.
It was later confirmed the duck stands at around 70cm.
Long Boi has featured on Greg James’s BBC Radio 1 show and James Corden’s The Late Late Show in the US.
Zoe added: “The impact that Long Boi has had on our duck-loving community here in York has been incredible to witness – walking across campus you’ll always spot a group of students looking for Long Boi, his image adorns our student society logos, merch and advertising, and he has even become an unofficial mascot of the university itself.
“Whether going to feed Long Boi as a well-earned stress relief during exam season, or awaiting his lighthearted Instagram updates through times of uncertainty and lockdowns, Long Boi has always brought a smile to his fans and friends.”
A University of York spokesperson said: “Long Boi is a much-loved character on campus and whilst we haven’t seen him around over the past few weeks, we continue to keep a look out for him and hope to see him again, safe and well, soon.”