Though the university is best known for its owl mascot, one student has taken it upon themselves to participate in some ‘foul play’ across both campuses by hiding multicolored miniature ducks and posting them on social media for others to find.
The user, @ducks_of_ksu on Instagram, has amassed a following of 77 people who engage playfully on the account owner’s take on “wholesome pranks.” Videos are posted to the account which shows where handfuls of ducks have been expertly hidden in unexpected nooks and crannies of buildings.
“If you find a duck somewhere, you might be like ‘oh this is cute’,” the Duck Hider said. “If you found something small, like words of encouragement, I think that’s a nice thing. Sometimes a small thing like that brightens up someone’s day.”
The account began through the Duck Hider’s desire to engage in an unharmful and silly outlet for chaotic energy. A prank on Instagram Reels of someone hiding miniature frogs around their parent’s house is what gave the foul prankster the idea to take on the task of ducking the university.
“I decided it’ll be fun to do, and it’ll probably be fun for other people to find ducks.” the account owner said. “It’s gonna be an invasion. People can find as many as they want and I’ll just keep doing it.”
The account owner also said that this invasion was intended to encourage students to explore the expanse of both campuses. Kennesaw State spans over a minimum of 500 acres including both Kennesaw and Marietta campuses. The Duck Hider admitted that they visited the Social Sciences building for the first time ever through their mission.
Though there is no method to the madness of their targeted invasions, after ten days of anonymous work, the Duck Hider has planted ducks in the Academic Learning Center, Bagwell Education Building and Prillaman Hall.
The Duck Hider remains intent on keeping their identity anonymous, but not for reasons of personal privacy. Instead, to keep the game fair.
“You’d be surprised by how little people care,” the Duck Hider said. “This is mostly why I decided I wanted to stay anonymous. Because if you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s harder to see things.”
The owner of the account said that the only aspect of their identity that they will reveal to the public thus far is: “duck.”
Other anonymous KSU accounts, like @ksu_gossipgirl, @ksucampus_mycology and @ksu_kryptids have engaged with the account online in both support and playful feuding. Students have also been sharing their trophy ducks and tagging the account to be reposted.
