The Deer of Nara
Category: Natural Monument:
The Deer of Nara are regarded as the messengers of the gods, or shinroku, from the legend that the god of Kasuga Taisha came down to the land of Nara riding on a white deer, and thus they have been protected with kindness for more than 1300 years. Presently, about 1,200 deer inhabit the precincts of Kasuga Taisha, Nara Park and its environs. Coexistence of humans and deer near a city is a global rarity, with the result that “The Deer of Nara” were designated as a natural monument of Japan in 1957 and have been carefully protected by the people. Most deer inhabiting Nara Park are used to people, but they are definitely wild herbivores that eat acorns and plants such as grass. In spring (May – June), does protect their babies before and after childbirth, and in autumn (August – November), bucks are in their rutting period, and they tend to have violent tempers and may attack people. Please be careful when coming in contact with the deer.
Deer Crackers
Shika senbei, or Deer crackers are a safe snack for deer made from rice bran and flour, and sold by vendors and in souvenir shops in Nara Park.
Although sometimes the deer mistakenly eat paper products such as maps, please do not feed paper or plastics to the deer, as they cannot digest them, and it may result in sickness or death. Furthermore, please do not feed anything to the deer other than deer crackers, to prevent the deer from getting sick, as human food such as snacks contain seasonings and spices.
If you tantalize deer while feeding them deer crackers, they might get upset and bite you.
When you have no more deer crackers left, please open your hands and show the deer both your hands to signal that you do not have any more deer crackers.
Official Website
http://naradeer.com/
Caution to deers
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World Heritage Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
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