The green owl, once the mascot of the language-learning app Duolingo, is no more. The US-based company, which gained widespread recognition during the Covid-19 pandemic, recently announced that the beloved cartoon owl has been retired. Much like Twitter’s iconic blue bird, which was phased out after Elon Musk took over and rebranded the platform to X in 2023, the owl seems to have been a casualty of a corporate rebranding effort.
On Tuesday, Duolingo posted an announcement on X, sharing the sad news that its iconic mascot, Duo the Duolingo Owl, has passed away. The company wrote: “It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formally known as the Duolingo Owl, is dead. Authorities are investigating his cause of death, and we are fully cooperating. To be honest, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know?”
Founded in 2011, Duolingo is based in Pittsburgh and offers over 100 language courses in bite-sized lessons. It gained significant popularity during the pandemic when many people around the world used their free time to learn a new language.
In the statement, Duolingo acknowledged Duo had some critics but asked followers not to post hateful comments. It jokingly added that those willing to share their thoughts should also include their credit card numbers so they could be signed up for Duolingo Max, the premium service, in the owl’s memory.
The post ended on a humorous note, saying: “We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time.”
It seems Duolingo’s recent reference to the singer Dua Lipa was a nod to the owl’s long-running “affection” for the pop star. Last July, Duolingo shared on its site that the owl had an “unrequited love” for Dua Lipa and even taught users English through lyrics from her songs.
The announcement about the owl’s passing quickly went viral, with more than 47 million views by the next morning. Many users reacted with humor and regret. One wrote: “Bro spent his last days begging me to learn French… and I ignored him… I will never recover from this.” Another joked, asking, “Do they suspect foul play?”
In a follow-up post, Duolingo humorously asked, “In lieu of flowers, please do a Duolingo lesson.” The company also updated its X profile picture to an image of the owl with crossed-out eyes and its tongue hanging out, signaling its “death.” They introduced a new logo featuring a cowboy hat.
While the owl’s in-app icon now reflects its “death,” within the app, the owl remains alive and well. Duolingo promised to share more on social media about the “shocking (and possibly absurd) truth” behind the owl’s untimely demise.