They are just silly.  No apparent real purpose.  When I first saw the BANANA DUCKS of downtown Dubai, I thought that perhaps they were marking some slippery parts of the pavement – ?  But no, it quickly becomes obvious that there is no slipperiness involved (after all, this is Dubai where it very rarely rains).   The banana ducks just ARE.

They are like little lost tourists and can be spotted at different parts of the Boulevard at different times.  They look like bananas which upon peeling sprouted a large duck head and duck feet….

Emaar, the developer of all of downtown Dubai, is very art oriented – art is everywhere here, and ever changing.  Some of it I love – like the banana ducks and the Janet Echelman sculpture over the Dubai Mall lake.  Some of it I am not as enamored of – like the “!00 Colors” that parade down the Boulevard (I think that the frames are too clunky, and the streamers themselves make me feel like I am walking through a car wash).  But whether I love or hate a particular piece, I love the fact that there is art everywhere here.

And I DO love the banana ducks!

Dubai’s Banana Ducks in the Opera District.

Dubai Banana Duck on the Boulevard, hanging out.

Dubai’s Banana Ducks at the Dubai Mall (from across the street).

Dubai’s Banana Ducks tend to hang out in fours.

Dubai’s Banana Ducks just being banana ducks.