The care and patience given to the little duck family in the middle of downtown Tokyo is warming hearts around the country.

It’s easy to forget that nature still exists in amongst the myriad of buildings, roads and people cramped into the Tokyo metropolis. Aside from the cats, dogs and rail-loving crows, it’s rare to see free-roaming wildlife in the middle of the city, particularly around Roppongi, which is better known for its nightclubs, restaurants and high-rise complexes.

So it’s no surprise that a recent tweet from Twitter user @tenguyokoyama has gone viral around the country, after it showed a group of ducks out and about in Roppongi Hills this week. While it could’ve been a dangerous journey for them, the little family were in luck as they attracted the attention of a local worker, who dutifully stopped traffic and escorted them across the road, melting the hearts of everyone who saw them.

Take a look at the sweet video below.

At the beginning of the clip, a man in uniform, who looks to be a Roppongi Hills guard, can be seen raising his hand to halt traffic on both sides of the street.

While it’s hard to see the ducks at first, they emerge one after the other, with five ducklings following their parent out onto the road. The staff member patiently waits for them to make their way over, even as one duckling trips and falls behind in line, ushering them to safety.

Once the ducks are safe, the employee dips his hat and bows to each of the taxis which had followed his instructions to stop, to thank them for their cooperation.

As one of Japan’s largest integrated property developments, Roppongi Hills consists of high-rise complexes containing everything from restaurants, museums, theatres, shops, offices and residences. While it might appear as if the ducks were making their way over to make a high-end purchase at the Rolex store in the video, Roppongi Hills also has a number of green spaces, which is the reason why they were in the area.

These ducks hail from a pond in Mohri Garden, which sits between the TV Asahi Building and Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. According to @tenguyokoyama, the employee who ushered the ducks to safety confirmed later that the family had made their way safely back to their home in the pond without incident. 

Since posting the sweet video online, the tweet has received more than 116,000 retweets and over 324,000 likes, along with a huge number of warmhearted comments like:

“This is so adorable! It made me feel all warm inside.”
“It’s amazing that a duck and its babies can live and survive in the megalopolis!”
“Thank you so much for posting this! You were lucky to be there to witness such a kind spectacle!”
“What a wonderful guard. He was so patient and polite!”
“It’s so nice to see people caring for nature like this!”

The scene was so sweet it even made its way to a number of television news programmes.

https://twitter.com/Yuki_Yuki_2018/status/996689583969521666

While the ducks were unable to thank their kind guardian in the same way a human normally would, the fact that they returned safely to their urban pond is no doubt thanks enough for the hardworking employee.

With ducks seen strolling around Kyoto and even a Lawson convenience store in recent years, let’s hope there are plenty more good samaritans in the right place at the right time to help nature survive on the busy streets in years to come!

Source, images: Twitter/@tenguyokoyama