Krissy Ellis (20) has been raising ducks since she was five years old but got Munchkin when she was a teenager.
The TikTok duo began making videos together almost immediately, quickly attracting social media fame after sharing their adventures online.
Their channel name, ‘Dunkin Ducks’ was inspired by their small town’s main fast food joint and also inspired some of their most popular videos. On their car trips, Ellis often made a pit stop at the doughnut shop.
She’d film short clips of Munchkin’s eagerness while waiting in her lap in line at the drive-thru, the footage has since gone viral all across social media.
And, the employees at the ordering window have come to recognise Ellis and await Munchkin’s usual order of cold water with extra ice that she happily pecks at.
Ellis was responsible for raising a family of ducks including one of Munchkin’s offspring, named Dunkin.
She was hatched on July 24th, 2020. Ellis shared the story to her blog, saying “Once Dunkin started piping through her shell, Munchkin pulled the cap right off of her and welcomed her into the world. The next morning Dunkin’s sister and best friend, Donut, hatched.
The two experienced their first swim together in a carved out watermelon and enjoyed falling asleep together in my hands.”
Unfortunately, the duckling passed away last month due to liver complications leaving many of her fans feeling heartbroken, but able to look back on pages of wholesome videos to remember the little duck.
What makes these videos so popular online? From talking dogs to feisty parrots, pets are as notorious for going viral on social media as babies.
It seems that during the pandemic, people are keen to see positivity online and have turned to these adorable pet video accounts for light-hearted content that’s guaranteed to will bring a smile to their faces.
And, with so many people loving what they’re seeing, it seems these content creators are massively being rewarded for the positivity that they are spreading.
Now, with just over 2.7 million TikTok followers, Ellis is able to be a part of the creator fund. In an interview with Dexerto, Ellis revealed that she makes more money in about half an hour of filming, editing and posting her content than she was able to make working over 40 hours a week at a grocery store.
She revealed that in a month she can make roughly R63 000 thanks to social media and a myriad of other exciting brand deals and sponsorship arrangements. This equates to more than R 760 000 each year, an incredibly impressive feat for someone who was initially bullied at school for her videos.
“One day the thing you are being bullied for is going to be the reason that people love you,” Ellis said to Dexerto, advising anyone dealing with online hate to persevere as you never know where it may lead you.