1. Where did the deer in Nara come from?
In July10, Nara became the capital of Japan and was named Peace Beijing. Legend has it that the male god who built the Imperial Thunder at that time also rode a white deer and moved to the present Spring Society. The deer in Nara came to Nara in that distant era, so it was called the messenger of God. Deer in Nara Park have been bred for generations 1300 years. It is said that there are still deer with white fur on their hind feet in Nara Park. Nara people believe that those deer with white fur are descendants of the gods, and those who see them can be lucky. I haven't seen them once anyway.
2. How many deer are there in Nara Park?
According to the investigation report in, there are about 1226 deer living in Nara Park, including 26 males, 73 females and 234 young deer. There are three times as many females as males.
3. Are the deer in Nara Park wild?
It may be hard to believe, but these deer are really wild. Nara has the "Nara Deer Care Society" to protect deer, and there is also a deer park in the territory of Quanshe to take care of and take care of about 300 deer injured in a car accident and about to give birth to a pregnant doe. Because the pregnant doe is very sensitive, it is easy to be angered by tourists and cause danger. The others are wild deer.
4. Can a deer bite? Can deer really bow?
In fact, it is not so much a bite as a deer's mouth urging you to give it to Xianbei quickly. If you shake deer scallops in front of them, you won't give them. Some impatient deer may remind you with their mouths. As for the strength of this bite, it depends entirely on the size and strength of the deer that bit you, and whether you dodge in time. I was once hit by a flash of deer head, and now I still have a small mark on my stomach.
As for deer and tourists saluting each other, or bowing and begging for food, it is actually entirely out of habit. They will nod before the battle, so it looks like they are bowing. In fact, what they really mean is: If you don't give me Xianbei soon, I will be impolite. When you don't want to feed the deer in front of you, you just need to put the scallops away and open them with your hands. The clever deer will know that your scallop is gone and won't chase you anymore.
5. What is the Lu Xian Cup made of?
80% of Lu Xianbei sold in Nara Park is produced by Takeda Nanjun Store, which is a sugar-free and oil-free thin biscuit made of rice bran and wheat flour. Tian's shop was recognized by the great social teacher and the erotic palace and passed on to the third generation. In spring and autumn, they produce 30,000 to 50,000 deer scallops every day. It is said that deer's favorite foods are deer scallops, (acorns) and grass on the ground.
Need to remind everyone that the deer in Nara likes to eat and will eat anything given to it. Therefore, it is important not to feed any other food except deer scallop, because the salt, sugar and oil contained in the food eaten by people will burden the health of deer. In addition, everyone's paper and plastic bags should be put away as much as possible. If a deer accidentally takes them away, they will eat them, and these things may threaten their lives.
6. What kind of deer is Nara? What is life like?
The deer in Nara is a kind of Japanese deer, the scientific name is sika deer, which belongs to Japanese native species. The average life expectancy of Japanese male deer is 15 years old, and that of female deer is 20 years old. Male deer and female deer live independent collective lives. Dozens to hundreds of male and female deer sleep in a fixed place at night, go to a fixed place to "go to work" during the day, eat deer scallops or eat grass.
July-September is the breeding season for deer every year. At this time, a male deer will be surrounded by several female deer and live a short polygamous life. May to June is the birth season of deer babies every year. Nara Deer Care Society held a newborn press conference for newborn deer babies in early summer.
7. Does deer hair change with the seasons?
This is bound to happen. Deer in Nara change their hair twice a year. When the cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the new green season in spring, the deer begin to change their hair for the first time and become a beautiful sika deer; When preparing for winter in autumn, deer need to change into brown fur in winter. I don't feel so energetic, but I should keep warm. From winter to cherry blossom season, when you come to Nara Park, you will see the messy fur of deer. In fact, it's not that they are sick, but there is a layer of fat under the fur in winter, which makes the fur look messy.
8. What is the relationship between Nara people getting up early and deer?
In the old days, Nara had "sleeping in Nara" (sleeping in Osaka, sleeping in Kyoto and sleeping in Nara) and "getting up early". Actually, here's a little story:
As the messenger of God, the deer in Nara have been treated and protected by local people since ancient times. Nara In ancient times, if a deer died in front of someone's house in the morning, it was a big event of decapitation. So the first thing for early risers is to open the door to confirm whether there is a dead deer in front of their house. If a deer dies in front of his house, he secretly drags the deer to someone else's house while others are still sleeping. After his family got up, he dragged the dead deer to the sleeping house. The last person to get up will be in big trouble.
Of course, the above is just a story, but the love for deer has never changed since ancient times. These deer are "national natural monuments". All cars should be polite when they cross the road. If they hit a deer with their car (including the deer rushing out and hitting it), they will be fined. In the course of Nara Driving School, there is also traffic safety education specifically for deer. In a word, Nara deer is a good neighbor who lives in harmony with Nara people.
9. What are the deer-related activities in Nara?
1. Deer Meeting
At the end of March (vernal equinox) every year, a deer-Xianbei throwing party will be held at the foot of Ruocao Mountain. Participants threw a special scallop three times larger than the ordinary deer scallop. The player who throws farthest wins and gets a pair of antlers. On the day of the event, a group of deer were ready to go. As soon as the contestant threw the deer shell, the deer immediately grabbed it and made a thunderous jingle. However, Lu Xianbei was generally taken away by faster crows.
2. Deer Sending Conference
Every winter and summer, it is usually 9 am or 10, but the date is not fixed. The location is "Fei Huo" of Chunri Dashe. At the beginning of the activity, the staff of Deer Care Society will play trumpet and Beethoven's sixth symphony "Pastoral". When deer in the park hear music, they will run around. At this time, the staff will feed acorns to the deer. After eating acorns, the deer will continue to ask the surrounding tourists for Xianbei.
If you want to enjoy the spectacular scene of deer gathering in your own name, you need to apply to Nara Deer Care Association and pay 20,000 yen. E-mail :info@naradeer.com.
The annual activity time can also be confirmed in official website, Nara Deer Care Association. Official website:
Cut off the deer's horns.
From the early edo period, in order to avoid the antlers hitting people or the male deer attacking each other during estrus, the sacrifice of cutting antlers began. Deer antlers fall off naturally from February to March every year, and new antlers begin to grow in April. So every autumn (65438+ 10), the antlers will be cut off when they mature and harden. Antlers have no nerves, so cutting them off won't hurt the male deer. Nevertheless, because antlers are a symbol of the glory of male deer, they will try their best to break free and don't want to be cut off.
The festival is held in Luyuan of Chunri Dashe. A group of clergy named Shizi chased the deer to the site where the antlers were cut, and cut off the antlers under the instructions of the gods. The scene is very warm and it is one of the classic autumn festivals in Nara, the ancient capital.
The above deer gathering will be held at a slightly different time each year from the staghorn cutting festival. Please go to the website of Nara Deer Care Society for confirmation before departure. Website:
10. Other knowledge about beans related to deer
There is no trash can in Nara Park. This is to prevent the favorite deer from eating in the trash can. Eating some domestic garbage will do harm to the fawn's stomach, so there is no trash can in Nara Park.
In order to prevent deer from eating bark, the trunks of most trees in Nara Park are surrounded by barbed wire.
There is a so-called "deer feeding line" in the forest of Nara Park. The deer feeding line is about 2 meters high, that is, the height at which the deer raises its front foot and head to eat the leaves on the tree. All the leaves below 2 meters high have been eaten up, so the branches and leaves above 2 meters high are kept neatly and look like a straight line from a distance, so it is called "deer feeding line".
The public toilets in Nara Park have a sliding door more than ordinary toilets, which is to prevent deer from breaking in.
The grass in Nara Park is smaller than that in the common grassland. This is because the shorter the grass, the less likely it is to be eaten by deer. This is probably natural selection. So another advantage is that you don't have to mow the lawn in Nara Park. If the grassland area of the park is 79 hectares, it can save 654.38+000 billion yen in grassland consolidation expenses every year.
An American traveler once said that I was deeply moved by the harmonious life between Nara deer and people. Because of this, Nara has become my favorite city. I think no matter what it is, it only takes one reason to fall in love with a place. Knowing the history and anecdotes of Nara deer, will you have some different feelings when you see it next time?