Students raise over £5,000 for statue in memory of Long Boi the duck

Over £5,500 has been raised for a statue to be built in memory of ‘Long Boi’, a famously tall duck who is presumed dead.

The bird became a social media sensation thanks to his unusual 2ft 2ins (70cm) tall stature.

But sadly the mallard Indian runner cross has not been seen on University of York’s campus grounds since mid-March, and is now presumed dead.

In a bid to pay respect to one of the university’s most famous alumni, students have crowdfunded an impressive £5,527 to go towards a statue in his honour.

Around 340 people have so far donated to the cause.

The university is now on the hunt for an artist to design the memorial statue.

‘It’s with great pleasure that we can now announce that our Long Boi fundraiser, which closed last Saturday, has raised a grand total of £5,527!’University of York Student Union said.

‘This will no doubt get Long Boi the statue he deserves.

‘We will be looking to issue an Open Call to any artists wishing to design and create the Long Boi memorial in the coming weeks and selecting a winner before the start of the next academic year.

‘We would like to issue a special thank you to all 340 of our donors – we would not have been able to memorialise His Royal Löngthness without your invaluable support.

‘We would also like to say a massive thank you to our “Big Donors” who have each contributed significantly to the success of our fundraiser.’

The giant bird was mentioned on The Late Late Show with James Corden two years ago and has also received a shoutout on BBC Radio 1.

The large duck is believed to be an unwanted pet that was dumped in the lake near the university.

Fans are also selling a range of merchandise in honour of the famous duck including t-shirts, stickers and notebooks.

A bakery in York city centre even sold vegan Long Boi doughnuts amid his disappearance in March.

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