Boner's Ark depicted a menagerie of animals trapped on a boat (the "Ark") and constantly in search of land. Helmed by the bumbling Captain Boner, the Ark is small on the outside and abnormally large within. In addition to sleeping quarters for all the animals, it also features a cinema, a restaurant run by a hippo, a hospital, a pub and a golf course where Captain Boner, Cubcake and the doctor spend most of their time. The complaints department is staffed by a hyena. The large initial cast was gradually pared down to a small group of regulars.

Captain Boner

Captain Boner is the leader and only human aboard the ark until Mrs. Boner is introduced to the series. He struggles to get the animals to listen to him or follow his orders. A car enthusiast, Captain Boner remodels the bridge to resemble the interior of an old automobile. When not on the bridge, the Captain is a regular at the golf course and the end of the "plank", where he goes to escape the frustrations of his office, or is forced to walk off the edge by the Hyena's frequent mutinies.

His wife, Bubbles, was introduced to the series in the 1970s, when she was rescued at sea. Shortly after she joined the strip, a story arc involved her convincing Boner to shave his moustache. He remains clean-shaven until the end of the strip.

Duke

Duke is a male penguin and a member of the society on the ark.

Rex

Rex is a dinosaur, usually depicted on the deck of the Ark or in the hospital with the Doctor.

Cubcake

Cubcake is a koala, occasionally referred to as Captain Boner's nephew. The character was originally nameless. "Cubcake" was the winning entry after the strip asked readers for suggestions regarding the koala's name.

Aarnie

Aarnie is a male aardvark. His struggles with his enormous nose are the subject of a number of strips . He is the Ark's First Mate.

The Doctor

The doctor aboard the ark is a male duck, Dr. Quack, who is often seen with Rex in his hospital. The Doctor is also a regular golfer and accompanies Captain Boner on the course.

Priscilla

Priscilla is a ugly female pig and girlfriend of Dum-Dum the gorilla. Priscilla also pursues a romantic interest with any other male (especially the Duke penguin), but without success due to her ugliness. She believes herself to be very beautiful, romantic and sensual, and physically attacks those who tell her the sad reality of her. She vainly dreams of being a beautiful artist and movie or music star. She wears a ridiculous black bikini in which she believes she looks very sensual and voluptuous, but which she only manages to highlight the total nonexistence of beautiful feminine attributes in her ugly and chubby body. She is so ugly that she causes almost all the males on the ark to vomit with disgust. Of beauty she only has her name (Priscilla) and the tasty taste of her pig meat, but the latter could be enjoyed only by killing it and eating it.

Dum-Dum

Dum-Dum is a gorilla, and Priscilla's boyfriend. In early versions of Boner's Ark, Dum-Dum is generally naked. By the late 1970s he appears in overalls.

Lookout

Lookout is a giraffe. He is named Lookout because he is in charge of searching for land.

The Hyena

He is an irritable male and grouchy hyena. Unfriendly, bad-tempered, violent, aggressive and hateful, he usually hits others for pure pleasure. He is occasionally seen working at the complaints desk or as a marriage counselor, and running a marriage counseling service for Boner and Bubbles. He organizes frequent mutinies against Boner. He is such a thug that he doesn't even respect little Cubcake, unlike everyone else, who loves and respects him. Even Cubcake gets hit sometimes by the moron!

Sandy

Sandy is a very nice, sweet and beautiful young female ostrich who works as the ark's chef and also as Doctor Quack's assistant nurse. Sandy is so beautiful that one or another character is often seen falling in love with her, especially the penguin Duke. Next to Sandy, her pig friend Priscilla looks even uglier.

Minor characters include a snake, mouse, otter, bear, turtle, elephant and a lion. A hippo waits tables at the Ark's restaurant. A pelican works as the ark's handyman.

• Boner's Ark at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018.
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