More deer bites reported at Japan's Nara Park due to tourist influx

The number of injuries caused by the deer in Nara Park hit a record 164 cases between April 2017 and January 2018, up from the 118 cases reported in the previous fiscal year. PHOTO: YE LIMEI

NARA - Famed wild deer in the city of Nara appear to be growing increasingly frustrated with tourists who make them wait to munch on crackers while trying to frame the perfect photo, The Japan Times reported.

The number of injuries caused by the deer in Nara Park hit a record 164 cases between April 1 2017 and January 31 this year, up from the 118 cases reported in the previous fiscal year, the Nara Prefectural Government said on Thursday (Feb 8).

Around 80 per cent of the 164 cases involved foreign tourists - most of them Chinese, the prefectural government said, adding that most of the injuries were minor, with tourists having their hands bitten lightly while feeding the animals.

The rise is partly due to the increasing influx of foreign visitors, prefectural government official Yuichiro Kitabata told The Japan Times on Thursday. But he also blamed tourists' eagerness to take good pictures with the deer.

According to Kitabata, many tourists first lure the deer with shika senbei (deer crackers), which are sold in Nara Park. Once the deer approach, the tourists hide the snacks, making the animals wait as they attempt to snap photos.

"Such cases are increasing greatly. … Some people think the deer are tame and trained not to harm people," Kitabata told The Japan Times. "But they are wild animals."

He added that some tourists also anger the deer by climbing on their backs.

The prefectural government has tried to advise tourists on appropriate behaviour around the animals, releasing informational videos and posting 40 signboards in several languages around the park. But the effort appears to have fallen short.

"The deer basically won't attack people unless we do something to them," Kitabata said. "They are used to people. So, it's okay for tourists to feed them shika senbei in a normal way… but please keep in mind that they are wild animals."

Nara Park - home to nearly 1,500 wild deer as of July 2017 - is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nara.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, the number of foreign visitors to Nara Prefecture surged to 1.65 million in 2016 from 285,000 in 2012.

Of the 1.65 million, 42 per cent were Chinese, followed by 18.3 per cent from Taiwan, and 10.3 per cent from South Korea.

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