[2] The tallest statue stands only 38 inches (97 cm) tall, and the caravan of bronze ducks set in Boston cobblestone spans 35 feet (10.67 m) from front to back.

The statue, installed October 4, 1987,[3] was a tribute to Robert McCloskey "whose story ... has made the Boston Public Garden familiar to children throughout the world.

[2] A sculpture, similar to the original set in the Boston Public Garden, was erected in Novodevichy Park in Moscow as part of the START Treaty by Acton, Massachusetts landscape and construction company Capizzi & Co. Inc. on July 30, 1991.

Thieves hoping to sell the ducks as scrap metal cut the statues off at the legs.

The ducks were replaced in September 2000 at a rededication ceremony attended by former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.