IGNITION Staff
Living so close to residential areas, coexistence depends on human efforts
byMatthew Coslett
Top photo by Matthew Coslett. all Other photos are the courtesy of the Foundation for the Protection of Deer in Nara if not specified .
The deer roaming in the parks and streets of Nara, western Japan, are one of the most recognizable sights for the visitors to the area. They are popular both with the tourists and with the local residents who sell deer-themed gifts and food to visitors. When Nara decided to create a mascot for their city, it was no surprise to anyone that the resulting character, Sento-kun, had a pair of deer antlers on his head.
Tourists looking at the deer casually grazing in the fields will likely think about how harmonious everything looks. Of course, the truth is actually far more complicated. The deer exist in a constant state of balance between conservation efforts and the interests of local residents. The organization that maintains this careful balance is the Foundation for the Protection of Deer in Nara.
God came to Kasuga Taisha Shrine riding a white deer
“Our Foundation is solely dedicated to the preservation of deer,” The veterinarian Yutaka Yoshioka from the Foundation explains. “It is maintained by money from a variety of sources. Whenever you buy a shika senbei (A cracker for the deer to eat), we receive a donation, but the majority of our money comes from the prefectural city offices and Kasuga Taisha Shrine.”
Kasuga Taisha Shrine, known as a part of the World Heritage sites of ancient Nara, has a vested interest in maintaining the herds as they have become a symbol of the temple. In Nara each shrine needs a protective spirit, so at Kasuga Taisha a thunder god known as Kashima-no-kami was invited to reside at the shrine. “According to the shrine’s story, the god came to the shrine riding on a perfectly white deer,” Yoshioka explains, “For that reason, the deer became sacred. Their population has been consistent ever since.”
When the deer went from having divine status to being simple animals, they faced the risk of ending up on the dinner table
Keeping track of the population has become an important role of the Foundation. All the deer are implanted with microchips which are used for basic research. Every year, the foundation releases a chart that tracks the population. It shows that the number of deer has remained consistently between 1000–1200 individuals since the mid-60s.
I ask him about the sudden plummet in the mid-40s when the population went as low as 79 individuals. Yoshioka tells me that following the Second World War, the deer officially lost their divinity and were acknowledged to simply be animals. After years of rationing, the local residents were quick to take advantage of the available meat and the herd’s population suffered.
Facing a population that was in danger of total collapse, Japan’s Ministry of Culture decided to give the deer a new status as a ‘national treasure of Japan’. Since then, the hunting of the deer has become incredibly rare.
Many of the deer lose their lives to traffic accidents since they live so close to humans
While the risk of ending up on the dinner table has more-or-less disappeared, the deer are far from safe. The close proximity to humans inevitably causes accidents to happen, usually from cars, but occasionally from dogs. “The biggest problem is definitely traffic accidents, especially at night.” Yoshioka explains, “Young stags are the most likely to die in these accidents as they often leap in the way of cars.”
As a result, there are road signs in Nara that are designed to increase awareness of the risks drivers face near the bucks’ territories. There is even a map for Japanese people that contains a list of hotspots where accidents are most likely to occur. “Every year 80 or so animals die in traffic.” Yoshioka adds, “It creates a number of problems as the cars are also damaged and people may be hurt.”
Of course, any attempts to reduce these risks by limiting the herd size are likely to be unpopular. While fencing would be the obvious choice, locals are unsupportive as the beautiful setting is an important part of the area’s appeal. Culling would likely be unpopular given the herd’s special status.
Instead, the foundation is attempting to control the population by reducing the amount of rutting. “Outside Nara, deer are still hunted to keep their population down. Instead of this, in Nara, we keep the stags and does separate,” says Yoshioka. “If the population gets too big, the juvenile deer are taken up to the mountains and released there. We never cull them.”
Protecting visitors from the deer
While the foundation is keen to protect the deer from hunters, its staff have also found that the public must be protected from the deer too. Despite their gentle reputation, signs around Nara warn of the dangers of deer biting, kicking and butting visitors. “The horns usually grow to their full-length in September.” Yoshioka continues, “Of course, the males use their horns for fighting each other. Mostly they fight for territory, but they will even start fights over crackers thrown by tourists. Even mothers will attack if they have a newborn. For these reasons in October, we cut the stags’ horns down to size. We also keep the mothers and juveniles separated.”
Unfortunately, this can make the deer appear to be too safe and as a result the center also issues warnings against some of the mischief they have seen, such as people putting bags on the younger animals’ horns. Not all of the problems are intentional either, as even well-intentioned gifts like certain vegetables and fruit can be unpalatable to deer and many have become sick eating them. Deer also find it difficult to distinguish food and trash, Yoshioka stresses, and as a result deer have been found with their stomachs bloated by plastic bags and other detritus.
Are deer are eating up historical buildings in Nara?
This tendency to eat everything has caused some people to be worried about the consequences of having the herd so close to sacred places like Kasuga Taisha or the Giant Buddha. The book Sekai Isan wo Shika ga Kuu (Deer are Eating Our World Heritage) caused controversy by suggesting that the numbers of deer could be hurting the sacred sites that Nara valued so much.
Yoshioka isn’t fully convinced. “Sure, buildings may be damaged by the deer and there are problems with shop owners.” He says, “But the population and food supply is usually balanced. Their droppings serve as a kind of natural fertilizer, so there is plenty of greenery in the area. Nara deer can eat grasses, nuts, acorns and other kinds of greenery.” He cracks a smile as he adds, “They can also digest bark which leads to them sometimes eating paper and tourist maps.”
Overall the Foundation is keen to stress that the balance is well-kept. “As you can see, the population remains consistent and there is plenty of food.” Yoshioka explains, “Yes, there are problems, but the deer are very important to Nara and the people are glad that they are here.”
Originally published at ignition.co.