Duck mania in the US - 25th August 2023

The giant yellow Rubber Duck has arrived in Maryland in the US and duck mania has set in - with people travelling miles to catch a glimpse. Amber Mundy's delighted the duck has arrived so close to her home.

Amber Mundy: "I'm here to see the giant duck! I love ducks! I collect them! And so, I wanted to see it for the first time. So, I've seen it like, growing up, and so like, I was like, oh I wanna see it for real now. And it came to Maryland. So, I was gonna go to Toronto to see it but I'm glad it came here."

With an appeal for people of all ages, the massive duck sees people like David Lewis and his wife driving nearly 100 miles to witness it.

David Lewis: "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to come see this duck. I've never seen it before, never heard about it. We drove 91 miles one way just to come see the duck in beautiful Leonardtown, Maryland."

Originally designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the Rubber Duck sculpture was inspired by a model manufactured by Tolo Toys, a Hong Kong company. Since its first appearance in 2007, the yellow duck's embarked on an extensive world tour.

In each location, Rubber Duck is recreated anew, as Hofman intended the duck to be public art that was temporary in nature. The ducks are made up of 200 pieces of PVC and are all connected by hand using a sewing machine, and inside its body is a fan so that it can be inflated at any time. The different ducks can vary in size but are always impressive.

Maria Sandoval: "I'm looking at it now and it's definitely a lot bigger than I expected it and it's, it's really cool."

Often referred to as 'Mama Duck', Rubber Duck has now been around for over 20 years and many of her followers have grown up with her. Emily 'Ducky' Donoghue is one of Mama Duck's mega fans.

Emily Ducky Donoghue: "I've been wanting to see this duck for as long as I can remember. My sister showed me a picture of this like, when I was maybe like 11 years old. And since then, I've been wanting to see this duck for so long, cause I've been in love with ducks since I was just like so little. And this is like a dream come true."

Will Rubber Duck be making a splash near you soon?