DUCK DUCK JEEP
Hello, ducky
A North American trend called Duck Duck Jeep is said to be hitting the UK. Is that true – and what is it? JAMES ATTWOOD breaks out the Christmas quackers
PHOTOGRAPHY
JOHN BRADSHAW
Like many waterfowl, ducks are migrating birds – but some on UK shores will have even seasoned twitchers very confused. Because reports suggest that you might just find a new species of duck in the UK. If, that is, you know where to look: the dashboards of Jeeps.
I should mention we’re talking plastic ducks here. That’s because a relatively new phenomenon has begun in which Jeep drivers – or Jeepers, as some like to style themselves – gift plastic ducks to the owners of other Jeeps. Don’t worry: you’re probably not alone in finding that odd.
Ducking Jeeps – please be careful how you say that – has become hugely popular in North America. Find a Jeep of any type, age or condition over there, and you’re likely to see at least a handful of ducks spread across its dashboard.
I discovered the phenomenon on a holiday in Texas, when Avis gave me a Wrangler PHEV hire car. One day I returned to it in a car park to find a small blue duck – which neatly matched the accent colour on the bodywork details – on the wing mirror. It took a bit of internet sleuthing to unearth why I’d been gifted a plastic duck and my quest to learn more led me down a rabbit hole. Or duck hole, I suppose.
According to various Jeep ducking web forums, the trend is beginning to spread globally, including to the UK. Is that true? There was only one way to find out: to get a Wrangler and a bag full of plastic ducks (official Jeep ones, no less) and to set out on a duck hunt. Yes, serious investigative journalism, this.