A surf duck steals the show (and all hearts) at the beach every day: “Everyone around it is happy” | The best thing about the web

To many, the duck is just a duck, but for Kate Miller and her son Tom (16), the animal is so much more than that. They took care of the bird in March 2020, when it was less than a day old. Hours, weeks and months of intense training followed to raise the ducks into a complete pet. And it worked. Kate has some experience: It’s the fourth duck in 35 years that she raised as a pet.

Ducks have since become a local celebrity in the Australian coastal city of Gold Coast. Not necessarily because it is part of the Miller family, but because the duck is fond of surfing. And it appears to be possible, too. The BBC, among others, has captured the surfing animal, and it has been conquering the world ever since.

When the duckling was seven days old, its owners actually took it ashore. “We didn’t pay it,” says Kate. “We took him to the beach because we love to do it as a family. We were challenged by a wave and we followed and thought it was fun.”

Since then, he’s been an unstoppable duck. Every day she takes Kate and Flying Tom to Rainbow Bay for a swim. When the animal is tired, he jumps onto a surfboard, Tom says, and dives again into the water afterward.

“He loves her,” says Kate. And she confirms that they did not cut the wings of the duck, so that he could fly away. But the animal does not. Tom says ducks make everyone happy in a 10-meter radius around him. “that’s cool.” Kate agrees, saying, “There are people who come to Rainbow Bay specifically to see the duck.”