Anew riddle that asks “How many ducks do you see?” or “How many ducks are there in this picture?” is trending on social media. Here’s a look at the answer.

The riddle is showing up on Instagram and Facebook. It shows a picture of ducks and the question asks: “How many ducks do you see?” Some people might post a slightly different version that reads, “I won against . See if you can see how many ducks there are.” Or the person sharing the riddle might write: “How many ducks do you see? I won against.”If you’re ready for the answer, then read on.

The Answer to the ‘How Many Ducks’ Riddle

The picture that goes along with the “How Many Ducks” riddle looks like this:

The blurry nature of the image makes it tougher to determine an answer and helps more people get the answer wrong than you might expect.

The trick is that there are actually lots of ducks hidden in the picture. Some are in front of the duck, one is really tiny, and one is just barely superimposed on top of another duck. If you don’t look closely, you’ll definitely miss a duck. Looking at the ducks’ feet can help you identity extra ducks, but it’s not a foolproof method because some of the feet don’t give the extra duck away.

There are 16 ducks in the photo (although some people debate this answer.) 

You can see where the ducks are located in the photo above. The middle top one shows two ducks side by side, which is just like the far left duck on the middle row. On the far right in the top row, you can see a tiny duck by the large duck’s feet. On the middle photo in the middle row, there’s another small duck by the duck’s feet. On the third row on the far left, there are two ducks superimposed on top of the big duck.

The duck on the far right in the middle row is the most questionable one and the source of some debate — it’s why you might see some people saying the answer is 15 and not 16. You can just barely make out a blob on the duck’s wing that is different from the other ducks in the photo, indicating the presence of a second duck. Some argue that you can’t see the duck at all and it shouldn’t count. Others say it’s a sure sign that there’s another duck under its wing and part of the joke.

The riddle provides a little bit of levity during a pandemic, which we all need from time to time.