Nara, The City Taken Over By Deer In Japan

August 6, 2014

Anybody who has travelled to India must have invariably encountered cows on the streets; animals that disrupt traffic and refuse to move. Now replace cows with deer and you’ve got Nara.

Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, and lies south of Kyoto, less than two hours from Tokyo by train. It is a beautiful city full of temples, shrines and ancient ruins, and home to one of the world's largest wooden buildings and one of the largest known statues of Buddha. Between 710 to 784, Nara even served as the capital of Japan. Today, this city of 370,000 has approximately 1,200 deer roaming the streets.

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bow after receiving a treat, as is the local custom.

Lately, the deer are causing destruction of the Kasugayama Forest Reserve located on the eastern side of Nara Park, just outside city limits. They strip bark from mature trees in the forest and eat young tree shoots, low-growing plants and low branches.

“Japan, as well as the city and prefecture of Nara, recognize that Nara’s deer herd has grown too large and is having a negative impact on agricultural production, the plants in Nara Park, and tourists,” said Yoshihiko Kusumi, an employee at Nara Prefecture Board of Education’s Department of Cultural Property Protection, which handles natural monuments including the deer. The government is studying the problem, but no action has been taken to resolve it.

Controlling the deer population through culling, limiting food sources through fencing, and decreasing pregnancy rates by hormonal treatment or by separating females and males during the rutting season are some of the possible solutions. But the protected status of the animal as well as various cultural and economic barriers have stalled action.

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