Who was Long Boi?
The long and short of our famous duck.
Long Boi was a much loved duck who lived at the University between 2018 and 2023. His tall stature and friendly demeanour saw him become a cherished figure on campus, then an internet and media sensation.
Where did Long Boi come from?
Long Boi arrived on Campus West in 2018; unlike many of our wildfowl, he wasn’t deliberately introduced - he just appeared. The suspicion is that he and another duck were brought to the lake by their former owners.
Zoe Duffin, then a Biology undergraduate, spotted this slightly out of place addition and was very taken with him: “We started feeding and taking photos of him, coining the name Long Boi due to his tall stature. We did feel a bit sorry for him; he seemed quite lonely.” Luckily, his loneliness would not last.
It was Zoe who coined the name Long Boi and who created the Instagram account which would bring him to wider attention (at the time of writing, in 2024, the account has over 56,000 followers). In 2023, she told the BBC "He has lots of fans on campus. It's a claim to fame when people have a selfie with Long Boi."
How tall was Long Boi?
Long Boi was believed to be an Indian runner/mallard cross - at around 70cm tall, he had the height of a runner duck but his colouring was classically mallard.
His height was such that the word Löngth was coined to describe it, and he was sometimes referred to as His Löngthiness.
A big part of our lives
Although he was initially shy, the attention he received - and the regular feeding - really brought Long Boi out of his shell, and he became a well-loved figure on campus, typically found in the area around Derwent College.
For students away from home, perhaps missing their own pets, having a special duck to look out for was heartwarming, and it was a great conversation starter. He was much loved by members of staff and the local community too.
“During the Covid lockdowns, coming to campus with my daughter on our daily walk to feed Long Boi and his friends was a genuinely joyful experience. He was always friendly, and shared treats politely with his smaller friends.” - Joanne Casey, staff member
Long Boi became an unofficial University mascot, mentioned in graduation speeches and welcome talks. He featured on Christmas cards and a range of merch sold by the Students’ Union. A Long Boi student society was established, and several students celebrated their time at York with colourful Long Boi tattoos, a lifelong tribute to a very long duck.
In 2023, the Department of Biology launched the Long Boiology Art Trail celebrating art, science and education in the Biosciences at York through the medium of long duck silhouettes decorated by staff and students to highlight our key themes of Better Health, Green Futures and an Education that Empowers.
Lily and her mum Joanne frequently came to campus during the Covid lockdowns to feed Long Boi and his friends.
A big figure in the media
In early 2021, a Reddit post (incorrectly) described Long Boi as the tallest mallard ever, giving his height as 1 metre, a löngth unheard of even for our löngthiest Boi. This caught the attention of people across the internet, with James Corden discussing him on the Late Late Show in America in April 2021. Long Boi’s fame was taking wing: the famously tall footballer Peter Crouch described him on social media as ‘My kind of duck’.
Being asked by a national newspaper to confirm the height of a duck was perhaps one of the quirkiest enquiries our Media Relations team have ever received.
In 2022, Radio 1’s Greg James waded into the Long Boi fan club, and our favourite duck became a regular feature on the Breakfast Show.
Long Boi was featured on James Corden's Late Late Show. Image: The Late Late Show with James Corden.
A big tribute
In Spring 2023, more and more people realised that they hadn't seen Long Boi in his usual haunts. The Grounds team kept a close eye out for him, but in May we were sadly forced to conclude that Long Boi had died.
Soon afterwards, the University Students’ Union began fundraising on the University’s YuStart crowdfunding platform. Their aim was to raise enough to create a fitting memorial, with any additional funds raised to be donated to student mental health support. Our community of students, staff and alumni is very philanthropic, and we’re proud to enable staff and students to crowd fund for their brilliant ideas, many of which centre on student support. With £5,300 raised, a statue was commissioned. It was unveiled by Radio 1's Greg James on 26 September 2024.
Greg James unveils the Long Boi statue in a ceremony at Central Hall.
A big impact on our community
"That super long neck, that speed! He stood out."
Ruth Penfold-Mounce from our Department of Sociology gives a rundown of what Long Boi meant to students and staff, how and why he became a symbol of our community, and other animals that have taken on celebrity status.
Our campus wildlife
Long Boi may be the tallest feather in our cap, but our campus is awash with other wildlife. Other special characters we’ve seen include Golden Girl (a golden-toned mallard), Fancy Boi (a stylish mandarin duck), Trevor (a shelduck named after Deputy VC Trevor Sheldon) and Chonky Boi (another mallard/Indian runner cross). Other residents of our two lakes include crested grebes, white and black swans, pochards, moorhens, barnacle geese, greylag geese and herons. Freshwater mussels in the lakes feed visiting otters, and on dry land we have rabbits, squirrels, hedgehogs and many varieties of birds.
Our local surroundings are very important to us, and we work hard to conserve the habitats and species that play a significant role in the local ecosystem. The Grounds team maintains our 500 acres of green space including ponds, gardens, parkland and two lakes, as well as monitoring our resident wildlife. Since 2013, we've held a Green Flag award, the benchmark national standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the UK.
, 1,800kb)About the University
If Long Boi captured your heart, then why not dive into more information about the University? Our community encompasses our current students, staff and alumni, those applying to join us, and our neighbours in York. Find out how you can get involved.