Japan Trivia: From trash to traffic, Nara Park’s friendly deer face various dangers

Many people likely know about the deer in Nara Park in the western Japan city of Nara, which are designated as natural monuments. They are friendly and can often be seen approaching tourists with an eye on their “deer crackers,” but the animals face problems.

A survey conducted in July 2022 by the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, which is involved in protecting the cervine creatures found that there were 1,182 deer in Nara Park, and 340 in the park’s “Rokuen” protection facility. However, 130 deer died in the year through June. Of these, 49 succumbed to disease and 27 died in traffic accidents.

The number of deer killed in traffic was down significantly from the previous year, but in some years, there have been close to 100 such incidents. Many of the fatal accidents have occurred on the national road near the park. The prefectural government has responded by marking dangerous areas with colored paving as “deer zones” and installing signs urging people to take care.

Even so, some tourists feed deer from their vehicles. As a result, the deer become accustomed to cars and stay on the road, leading to accidents and traffic congestion. The prefectural government and the deer protection association have created videos titled “Deer Manners” and urge people not to feed the deer from their cars.

Litter in the park and other areas is also a problem. When the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation examined 25 deer that died from unknown causes in 2019, plastic waste was found in the stomachs of 16 of them, and four of them were determined to have died as a direct result of accidentally ingesting plastic waste. Another problem is that feeding the deer snacks and other foods negatively affects their health.

At first glance it may seem that the deer coexist with humans, but their leisurely existence is in fact supported by the tireless efforts of members of the deer preservation foundation and other officials.

(Mainichi)