NARA, Japan - The deer population in Nara Park, a tourist spot in western Japan, hit a fresh record high of 1,687, a preservation group said Thursday, with the birth rate increasing on the back of the animals being fed food other than sugar-free deer crackers.
According to the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, more people are giving vegetables and leftovers to the deer, which have also been spotted in private vegetable gardens outside the park, damaging the harvest.
The figure increased by 222 from a year before when the previous record-high was logged, according to the group that has surveyed the deer population every year since 1953.
At the vast park, visitors are allowed to feed the roaming animals, designated as a national treasure, with digestive and sugar-free crackers sold in nearby shops.
The latest survey was conducted for two days through Thursday, with about 40 people joining the visual count.
The breakdown was 411 males, 990 females and 286 fawns. In the year through late June, 198 deer died, including 72 fawns, mainly in traffic accidents.
Nobuyuki Yamazaki, the foundation's secretary general, called for people to drive slower in the park area, saying, "Fawns often dash out as they follow their mothers."
