All the rice crackers they can eat, and this is the thanks Nara gets?! Some of Nara’s famous deer have decided to seek a better deal elsewhere. And Nara’s mayor is saying that, as far as they’re concerned, the ungrateful beasts can stay there.
Bambi: Deer in the City
On March 24th, a strange sight caught the attention of people in Tomobuchicho in Miyakojima City, Osaka: a deer lying in front of an apartment building. A crowd of 50 or so people gathered to watch the napping beauty, while police kept them at a distance for their safety.
This wasn’t the only sighting in Osaka of deer, which don’t naturally dwell in the area. Another deer was spotted on March 11th.
The deer all have a couple of undeniable traits. First, they’re very familiar with and unafraid of approaching human beings. In a couple of cases, hunters have reported seeing deer with their antlers artificially cut.
Both of these are trademarks of deer from Nara Park. That’s a good 38 kilometers east of Tomobuchicho.
Neither Osaka nor Nara can say definitively that the deer belong to the famous park, where tourists flock in droves to feed the deer senbei rice crackers and watch them wander in and out of shops. However, a Nara Park survey found that the park is currently seeing a record number of deer. With over 1,465 deer occupying the small area, officials say it’s possible some are wandering off to escape the crowding.
Nara Mayor: They’re dead to us
Deer within Nara Park enjoy a protected species status. However, in the wake of these escapes, Nara Mayor Yamashita Makoto made it clear that this protection doesn’t extend to deserters.
“Deer that leave Nara Park aren’t a protected species but wild animals,” he declared. Yamashita insisted that Nara felt no responsibility to repatriate the deer if they like Osaka so much.
Nara’s deer aren’t the only wild animals seeking a better deal outside of their usual habitat. As Japan’s population shrinks, bears are proliferating and coming closer than ever to human populations. The creatures have been sighted near train stations. One even took up residence inside a supermarket.
The increasing prevalence of wild animals in human habitats has spurred debate over how to handle the creatures. In the supermarket occupation incident, authorities ended up killing the creature, prompting a flood of angry complaints from citizens who would, it seems, choose the bear.
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So far, Osaka hasn’t started shooting the deer. Hopefully, they can keep it that way.
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Sources
大阪で出没相次ぐシカ、３０ｋｍ離れた奈良公園から？…「特定できない」ものの「人慣れ」「ツノ切られた跡」. Yomiuri Shimbun
県知事「奈良公園から出た鹿は野生動物」 大阪府警の施設内にとどまるシカはリラックスモードも大阪市に“捕獲”要請. FNN Prime Online
