Florida Woman Moves To Ireland, Discovers Animal From Kids’ Books Is Real

A woman has made the startling revelation that an animal she always believed only existed in children’s books is actually real after she moved to Ireland.
Crystal Allen, 29, moved from Miami to Blessington in County Wicklow, three years ago and has experienced a number of culture shocks since arriving on the Emerald Isle.
“I grew up only really seeing Muscovy ducks, and mallards ducks were only seen in children’s books,” Allen told Newsweek.
In the TikTok video, which has been viewed over 958,000 times since it was first shared on August 23, Allen films a group of ducks leisurely swimming, explaining that she never thought this species of the animal was real.
She shared the video with the text overlay, “POV: you move from Miami to Ireland and realize these ducks are actually REAL… and not just pretty sucks in kid books.”
“Google “Muscovy ducks..” that’s what I thought ducks looked like my whole life,” she added in the video’s caption.
The ducks captured in the short clip are mallard ducks, commonly found in Europe, Asia, and parts of North America. In Florida, a more common species of duck is the mottled duck.
Allen, a self-employed event stylist at Fáilte Events, told Newsweek: “I was definitely not expecting that many people to watch the video, but I mainly made it to show how the simplest differences around the world are impactful.
“I love experiencing small daily differences as it makes me stop and appreciate the little things in life.”
Allen and her partner moved from Florida to Ireland for a quieter life. “The slower pace of life, nature, and the craic had me hooked,” she said.
Blessington is a scenic area in the county of Wicklow on Ireland’s east coast, just south of Dublin. It is nicknamed the ‘Garden of Ireland’ due to its famed natural sites and wildlife.
According to 2022 Census data from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, over 30,000 people who were born in the United States live in Ireland.
Viewers of the viral clip shared their reactions to Allen’s realization. One user with the moniker That One Alien commented: “Me being from the UK thinking ducks just looked like these ones. I’ve never seen a Muscovy duck before, you learn something new every day.”
Meanwhile, Tmorg wrote: “Just looked up Muscovy ducks and wtf is that weird duck/turkey hybrid.”
Nicole joked: “I googled the Muscovy ducks and they’re terrifying!! I’m so sorry you had to grow up with that.”
@bettyblushes wrote: “I’m in Yorkshire, I thought this were just basic mallard ducks?”
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