‘Farewell magnificent ducko’: York students fear Long Boi has sadly died

Tributes have begun to pour in for Long Boi, The University of York’s famous campus duck as students fear that he has sadly died.

On Monday, rumours began to spread about Long Boi with students expressing their fears over having not seen the duck in weeks.

The University of York Waterfowl Instagram page said: “Farewell magnificent ducko, and thank you for everything.”

Earlier today, a University spokesperson confirmed to The York Tab that Long Boi was missing as he hadn’t been seen in a “few weeks”.

Long Boi’s official Instagram page said: “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. ”

Via @longboiyork

On Instagram, The Uni of York Waterfowl Page posted a statement regarding Long Boi’s disappearance. It said: “With no sightings since March, I think we can now assume the rumours are true.”

It continued: “But what a great gift he was for nearly four years. The other runners he arrived with disappeared within hours, and other domestic ducks who arrived long after he did struggled to last more than a year. His adaptability was surpassed only by his popularity.

“Farewell magnificent ducko, and thank you for everything.”

Comments on the Instagram post include many students mourning the death of Long Boi. One student said: “RIP Long Boi. You were the best duck to ever have lived. We salute you”.

Another student added: “We need a Viking funeral for this magnificent creature on Derwent Lake: it’s what he would have wanted. Rest in Pond to the longthiest, girthiest and truly longest of good bois.”

The Uni of York Waterfowl Page also told The York Tab: “Sad to say I think the rumours are true. We can hold out hope but he hasn’t been since March. And I give a very slim chance to his reemergence now.”

Long Boi’s official Instagram has also posted a statement surrounding Long Boi’s disappearance: “Dear followers, fans and friends of Long Boi, 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.”

There have been rumours of an alleged fox attack circulating on campus with campus groundskeepers allegedly heard to have told several students that they believe him to be dead since he could not fly.

A spokesperson for the University of York 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 lookout for him and hope to see him again, safe and well, soon.”

If you have any tributes to Long Boi please DM us on Instagram @theyorktab. 

Featured image via @longboiyork.

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