Sacred Deer of Nara, Japan

These deer are everywhere. I wondered about getting off the city bus we took from the metro station when I saw the first ones, but we perservered and took it to the furthest destination, which was a very good move because there are lots of deer everywhere. There is no missing them.

The Nara Park deer are wild animals inhabited the area for over 1,300 years. They have long been regarded as divine envoys of the kami (Gods) of Kasugataisha Shrine and have, therefore, been carefully protected. The deer of the Nara Park are the same species as the Japanese Sika found in other places, but they have inherited DNA from ancient deer species and are designated natural monuments of Japan. Genetic analysis conducted by Fukushima University revealed that the deer around Kasugataisha Shrine probably branched off from an ancestral group during the Asuka period (592-710) and have survived as a lineage with a unique genetic type for a long time. As a result, this unique genetic type has been maintained without interaction with other deer populations. The World Heritage Site, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, is said to have been founded in 768, roughly overlapping with the period when the deer in Nara Park branched off as a unique lineage. It has become clear that these deer are extraordinary creatures protected by people for over 1,000 years and are considered living cultural assets.