What Happened to Duo, Duolingo’s Owl Mascot? Death Notice, Explained

The Internet is grieving this morning as one of social media’s big stars, Duo, the Duolingo owl mascot, has passed away. However, his death has a lot of mystery surrounding it, especially because of the strange nature of Duolingo’s announcement. So, what really happened to Duo?

How Did Duolingo’s Owl Mascot Duo Die?

As part of an announcement that made a lot of people look at their calendar to make sure they didn’t sleep for two months and wake up on April 1st, Duolingo revealed that its mascot was gone. “It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formally known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead,” the statement read.

“Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know,” Duolingo continued. “We’re aware he had enemies, but we kindly ask you refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments. If you feel inclined to share, please also include your credit card number so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory.”

So, as of writing, not even Duolingo knows what happened to Duo, but the part about him having enemies is something to take note of. After all, Duo has amassed a massive following, especially on TikTok, which is sure to make people jealous. He was also never afraid to call people out, even when it came to them missing lessons on the Duolingo app, which teaches all kinds of languages to its users.

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Will Duolingo’s Duo Return?

Of course, this isn’t the first time an iconic mascot met their end around the Super Bowl. In 2020, Mr. Peanut, Planters’ mascot, lost his life in an ad before a new version of the character, Baby Nut, arrived. Fans didn’t take to the new character, but he stuck around for a year before Mr. Peanut returned.

It’s possible that Duolingo is attempting a similar marketing strategy, just with a bit more tongue-in-cheek flair. The mystery revolving around Duo’s death may also take on a life of its own since there are so many people out there with an axe to grind.

It’s unclear how this will affect lessons in the Duolingo app, but until Duo’s killer is brought to justice, it’s hard to imagine anyone focusing on their work. And maybe that’s what the criminal intended, wanting to bring down one of the biggest apps in the world by taking out its mascot.

And that’s what happened to Duo, Duolingo’s owl mascot.