A Turtle Wanders Into a Nara Deer Nap Spot — They Do Not Take It Well

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In Nara, Japan, deer have wandered freely among people for centuries — grazing in public parks, napping on temple grounds, and generally behaving as though the city belongs to them. They're famously unbothered: tourists, vending machines, bowing strangers offering rice crackers. Almost nothing fazes them.

But apparently, turtles are different. When a red-eared slider wandered out of Sarusawa Pond and into a deer resting area near Kofuku-ji temple, a cluster of young does came over to investigate — ears forward, noses working. Then the turtle moved. The reaction was immediate and catastrophic.

The photographer caught multiple clips: the initial stampede, the turtle actively approaching the retreating deer, and a lone doe timidly shadowing the turtle from a careful distance. A white wagtail also briefly crosses the frame, entirely indifferent to all of it.

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Some deer were just chilling when a turtle showed up out of nowhere. They all gathered around like “what the heck is this thing” — sniffing, staring — and then the turtle moved, and they bolted like the world was ending. Adorable.

鹿たちが休憩している場所にカメが出現し、なんやこれと鹿たちが興味津々でチェックしてたら突然カメが動いたので世界が終わったかのごとく驚き飛び上がって退散する様子　愛おしい

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It actually looks like the turtle is the one approaching the deer, not the other way around — and the deer just keep backing off. Maybe turtles are some kind of rare encounter for them?

カメのほうから積極的に鹿に近づいていってるように見えるが、鹿はどんどん逃げる　鹿にとってカメはかなりレアキャラなのかなぁ

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One deer is timidly trailing the turtle at a safe distance. A white wagtail (a small songbird common across Japan, often seen bobbing its tail near water) cruises through the frame completely unbothered.

やんわりとカメのあとを付いていく鹿途中で一瞬ハクセキレイも通り過ぎる

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“Oh? What’s this? sniff sniff … GYAAAH!!” 😂

おっ何やこれ？くんくん…どっひゃー！！的な😂

“What’s this? … Just a smelly rock I guess… Yeah, total stinker… Like really gross… WAAAUGH!! IT MOVED!! … Still smells though, honestly…”

なんや？これ？クサイ石ころやなぁ… うん、ホンマや、くっさぁ〜マジクサイわぁ… どぁあぁ〜〜〜っ！！動いたっ！！！！！！クサイな…ホンマに…

The deer 🫎: “AAAAAAAAAAAAH IT MOOOOOOOOOOVED!!!!!”

鹿ズ🫎『ｳﾜｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｧｳｺﾞｲﾀｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｱｧ！！！！！』

The deer sitting in the back is just… completely unbothered. Blank expression.

奥に座ってる鹿はスンとしてるね

The deer in the distance has this total “eh, stuff happens” look on its face and it’s the cutest thing lol

遠くの鹿が『まぁそんなこともあるわな』みたいな顔してるのほんとに可愛いw

I love both deer AND turtles so this is genuinely everything to me

鹿好きかつ亀好きワイ、大歓喜

I just want to watch peaceful stuff like this forever ( ᎔˘꒳˘᎔)

こういう平和な物だけを見ていたい( ᎔˘꒳˘᎔)

They freaked out way harder than I expected lmao 🌱

思ってた数倍ビビって逃げて草🌱

The Beginning of the Deer Dance.

鹿踊りのはじまり

“Shishishishi — it’s the beginning of the deer dance!” That’s literally a Kenji Miyazawa title. (Miyazawa was a beloved early 20th-century poet and author; “The Beginning of the Deer Dance” is one of his most famous short stories.) Wait, this is literally that.

しししし、鹿踊りのはじまりだ！宮沢賢治のやつじゃん。え、まんまだ。

四面楚鹿.

四面楚鹿

A play on the Chinese idiom 四面楚歌 (shimensoka, “songs of Chu on all four sides”) — meaning “completely surrounded with no allies.” Here, 歌 (ka, “song”) is swapped for 鹿 (shika, “deer”), giving you: surrounded by deer on all four sides.

The turtle is just out here doing its own thing with absolute zero awareness of the chaos it caused lol

ミドリガメが唯我独尊すぎて草生える。

It’s an Aka-pippi-mishimishi-game! (A playful mashup of アカミミガメ, the Japanese name for the red-eared slider.)

アカピッピミシミシガメだ

Both the deer and the red-eared slider are adorable 😂

鹿もアカミミガメも可愛い😂

Deer hanging around Sarusawa Pond (an ornamental pond near Kofuku-ji temple in Nara) is totally normal, but apparently a turtle making its way from the pond all the way into the park is quite rare 🤔

猿沢池にシカがいることはあるけど、猿沢池のカメが公園まで来ることはレアなんですね🤔

Two sacred creatures meeting. (Both deer and turtles have been revered as divine messengers in Japanese tradition.) Maybe the turtle is out hunting for a place to lay eggs?

神獣カテゴリ同士の邂逅カメちゃん、産卵の場所探してんのかな

Why is there a turtle here lmao — looking for shade maybe? The young deer are SO into this.

なんで亀がww　日陰を探してるのかな？若い鹿はかなり興味津々な様子。

The ones crowding around are all young does, which explains the curiosity. The stag watching from a distance in the background is giving some real energy lol

近寄ってるのがみな若い雌鹿なので、好奇心が旺盛なのでしょうね。遠目に見てる牡鹿がいい味出してますw

From the deer’s perspective, “something we thought was part of the ground… just activated?!” — honestly that’s a completely valid horror response.

鹿側からしたら「地面だと思ってたモノ？が起動した？！」なので、ホラー判定は正しい

I mean, if you were staring at what you thought was a rock or a tree stump and it suddenly started moving, you’d freak out too. Can’t blame them.

まぁ、人間も石や切り株ながめてて、そいつが動き出したらビビるから仕方ないね。

Meanwhile these same deer don’t even flinch at cars. Make it make sense.

そのくせ車にはビビらないのなんやねんほんま

Me in my room at night, touching something I thought was trash, and it moved — and it was a cockroach.

夜中の部屋で手になにか触れてゴミかと思ったら動いてGだった時の自分

My take

Such a wonderfully peaceful little scene — really warms the soul. It's funny how deer and humans have the same exact reaction when something unexpected suddenly moves: pure, unfiltered panic.

#Funny #Animals

Source & translation note

Comments loosely translated for tone. Reactions collected from Togetter and X threads.

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