A deer was found stranded in the Takanogawa River, which was swollen due to heavy rain, in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, around 10:30 a.m. on July 5. While nearby residents and staff from the Sakyo Ward office, who rushed to the scene, kept watch over the situation, the deer swam through the muddy stream to reach the bank by itself and walked away into the bushes along the riverbed.

Photo= A deer is swimming in the muddy stream (Around 1:00 p.m., July 5, Takanogawa River, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto)

The area where the deer was stranded was on the right bank, about 100 meters upstream from the Umabashi Bridge over the Takanogawa River. It appeared to be a young deer with a body length of about 1.2 meters. The deer got itself near the riverbank to avoid the muddy stream, and was sometimes eating grass that had grown there and walking about the neighborhood.

Photo= A deer was stranded by the swollen river due to the torrential rain (Around 11:00 a.m., July 5, Takanogawa River, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto)

Just after 1:00 p.m., as the rain continued and the volume of the river was also gradually increasing, the deer abruptly threw itself into the muddy stream. Although the deer was swept along approximately 100 meters due to the strong current, it swam successfully and landed on the riverbank.

Photo= After swimming across the muddy stream, the deer stands at the riverside (Around 1:15 p.m., July 5, Takanogawa River, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto)

After that, the deer hid in the riverside bushes for a while, until it suddenly started running and jumped into the river again. Perhaps it had been startled by something. Popping its head out of the muddy stream, it swam to the opposite side, the right bank, of the Takanogawa River, rushed up the riverbed and just walked away.

Photo= The Takanogawa River, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, is swollen due to the torrential rain (Afternoon, July 5)

Hidefusa Sakamoto, the deputy director of Kyoto City Zoo, said, "Deer are good at swimming. Even so, it swam well across the muddy stream. I thought that it did a good job."