- Japan’s Nara city is famous for its sacred deer, protected for a millennium as “messengers of the gods” according to Shinto religious tradition, and today also a valuable tourism resource.
- In recent years, genetic analysis by Japanese researchers has found that Nara’s protected deer population has become genetically isolated over its history. But a nationwide deer population boom now threatens to end the Nara deer’s long isolation, potentially bringing diseases transmissible to humans, the scientists warn.
- In addition, deer overpopulation can harm farmers’ livelihoods and upset the balance of ecosystems. The Nara prefectural government is leading efforts to minimize community conflicts and ecological damage from both protected and “ordinary” deer.
- However, the researchers warn that even stronger deer management measures, including installing more deer-proof fences and expanded culling, may be necessary to address conservation and community conflict issues.
Nara, a city in central Japan and an ancient national capital from 710 to 784 C.E., is today perhaps best known for its “sacred” deer.
According to legend, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, a deity in the Shinto pantheon, was carried by a sacred deer to Nara’s Kasuga Taisha Shrine upon its founding in 768, more than 1200 years ago, “for the prosperity of the nation and happiness of the people.” Ever since, deer living near the shrine have been protected, more or less, as “messengers of the gods.”
These days, roughly 1,300 sacred deer mingle freely with tourists in the 660-hectare (1,630-acre) Nara Park, a public space that includes Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Buddhist temples and a protected forest. The grounds, shrine and temples draw roughly 13 million visitors annually. As tourists snap photos, the animals eagerly wait to be hand-fed “deer crackers” purchased from park vendors.
Deer living near the shrine have been protected, more or less, as “messengers of the gods” for more than 1200 year ago. Image by Alfonso Jimenez via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).
In recent years, Japanese researchers have used genetic analysis to determine whether Nara’s deer are truly unique. They found that the population’s long history of protection has isolated their gene pool, making them genetically distinct, though not a separate species, from the deer in surrounding areas.
However, the strong protection measures have been called into question in recent decades as the Nara deer have been caught up in conservation and community controversy.
Across Japan, populations of sika deer (Cervus nippon) have exploded over the past 40 years, including around Nara. Now, the same researchers who revealed the sacred deer’s genetic distinction have discovered the protected deer are venturing outside the sanctuary and breeding with outside populations. They worry that “ordinary” deer may soon enter the protected area, potentially bringing infectious diseases with them.
Whether sacred or ordinary, protected or not, the overabundance of deer is also creating conflict with the shrine’s surrounding community as the animals damage crops,