The number of “personal injury” accidents, such as being stabbed by antlers, increased 2.5 times compared to last year! Mystery of the ″famous″ deer in Nara Park “going berserk

Anger over what? Why are the deer going berserk?

Nara Park is famous for its deer. Deer are known not only in Japan but also in the world, and inbound tourists are flocking to the park.

The number of cases of deer biting, stabbing, and stabbing with their antlers is on the increase. This past September, 43 cases were reported. This is 2.5 times more than in the same month last year,” said an official of the Nara Prefectural Government’s Community Development Promotion Bureau.

The FRIDAY Animal Mystery Squad headed for Nara Park to find out the truth.

The first thing they saw upon entering the park was a plump bull deer, one of which let out a high-pitched squeal and suddenly began skirmishing with a nearby deer. The woman beside the reporter ran away at once.

The deer are in mating season from late September to November,” she said. The male’s mating call is a courtship behavior. During this period, many people are physically attacked just for trying to give deer crackers to the deer.

However, it is an annual occurrence that deer have a rutting season. But why has the number of deer attacks increased so sharply this year? Let’s hear the analysis of a person in charge of the “Nara Deer Protection Society.

The number of visitors from overseas in group tours was very high this year due to the recovery of inbound demand. However, overseas tour guides have not been able to tell participants how dangerous deer are in the fall. So they approach them carelessly and are attacked by deer.”

There are also factors unique to the age of smartphones. A prefectural government official was astonished.

I was able to get this close to a deer,” he said!　and posting close-up videos and photos of the deer has become a trend.

People who see the postings and mistakenly believe they can easily get close to the deer have become prey to the rampaging deer.

Deer in Nara Park have been loved as messengers of the gods, but we must not forget that they are wild animals. Shinichi Kobayashi, secretary general of the All Japan Deer Association, sounds the alarm.

In the fall, male deer have hard antlers, and there is a risk of fatal accidents. It is wise to stay away from them during the rut.

Perhaps the time has come to think again about coexistence.

From the December 13-20, 2024 issue of FRIDAY