A RESIDENT duck at the University of York has found fame after his reputation as a "hefty lad" went viral across the world.

Known fondly as 'Long Boi' in the student community, the duck lives on the campus' wetlands and lake with many students keeping a handy bag of bird feed in their accommodation.

Until Thursday, Long Boi was only well-known among the students who live nearby with one even creating their own Long Boi fancy dress costume.

But after a rogue photo of him was posted on Reddit thread 'Photoshop Battles', the internet took hold. 

Since that moment Long Boi spent time on the Twitter trending page while his sheer size - 70cm in length from beak to toes to be exact - saw him photoshopped next to the Eiffel Tower.

Zoe Duffin, a third year biology student at the University of York, runs a dedicated Instagram page about the duck. The account found itself with a following of 16.3k people in less than 24 hours.

She had been at the supermarket and returned home to see her animal pal had gone viral. 

Speaking to the Press, Zoe said: "He's been on campus since 2018. He appeared behind my accomodation at the time. Myself and some friends went out to feed him and one of my friends coined the name 'Long Boi' as he's quite tall.

"One of my friends made an Instagram account about him. We thought it might be nice for other people to see him.

York Press: Photos of Long Boi taken by Zoe DuffinPhotos of Long Boi taken by Zoe Duffin

"He's gone kind of viral on the internet.

"When he was first on campus we think he was an unwanted pet and someone dumped him there and he was quite scared. He didn't fit in with the ducks.

"I know this year especially a lot of people have gone to campus to take their dissertation photos and tried to get him in it."

After calls from his student fans, Zoe crafted her own merch - from tote bag duck designs to stickers - for those who want Long Boi memorabilia. 

For Zoe, who grew up on a farm in Leicestershire, the duck is a lovely reminder of home.

"He's just a bit of a character. When he first appeared on campus he didn't fit in with the others but he's found his place and moved onto the bigger lake and settled in with all the other ducks.

"The University's built around the lake so everybody likes hearing about the ducks and it's quite a nice thing about going to Uni of York."

You can follow Long Boi's life on Instagram account @longboiyork