Wrinkle the duck
# Wrinkle the duck

Wrinkle Five Star (aka Wrinkle the duck) (born September 9, 2020) is an emotional support animal who has gained a following on social media, mostly noted for having run in the New York City Marathon. Wrinkle was born on September 9, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky, the only survivor from a clutch of six eggs. Although biologically male, Wrinkle was initially misidentified as female and still uses she/her pronouns.

Wrinkle lives in New York City with her adopted parents, circus jugglers Justin Wood and Joyce Kung. Wood and Kung bought 6 Pekin duck eggs, intending to raise the ducks for use as performers in their Justin Wood Circus Variety Show. During Wrinkle's initial training, it was noticed that she was good at running. A video of her running was posted on TikTok on September 17, a week after she was hatched.

## Running career

Wrinkle ran her first marathon in 2021. She does not run the entire 26 mile course. In 2022, by one estimate, she only completed 50 feet which included several stops for water. She is known to walk 15–20 blocks, and has completed the entire 1.4-mile (2.3 km) Bronx Halloween Parade. She recorded an official time of 18:08 for the 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) kids course of the 2022 Long Island Marathon, earning a medal and reportedly setting the world duck record for that distance. She also competed in the 2022 New York Marathon.

Ducks can develop a bacterial infection known as bumblefoot if they run on rough surfaces. To combat this, Wood and Kung built custom shoes for Wrinkle out of a soft red material.

Wrinkle also paints, using a style which has been described as similar to "Jackson Pollock but painted by webbed foot".

## Other examples

Ducks are not commonly used as emotional support animals, but Wrinkle is not the only known example. Daniel Turducken Stinkerbutt (Daniel the Duck) is an Indian Runner duck employed for PTSD therapy. Jellybean is a Cayuga Black duck used to alleviate social anxiety. Bill and Nibbles are two ducks who provide emotional support for an autistic child.

