Japan may be sick of mass tourism. But the deer in this ancient UNESCO-listed city love it

CNN —

While Japan’s overtourism issues may be causing headaches for local residents, there’s one group that seems to be benefiting from the influx of people – deer. Specifically, the deer who live in Nara, the ancient capital outside of Kyoto that is home to a series of UNESCO-recognized historic buildings.

Nara and its deer are so closely associated that the light-brown colored animals are pictured in the city’s tourism ads, on buses, train tickets and more. Shops are packed full of deer-themed souvenirs like stuffed animals and antler headbands.

The city recently carried out a deer census, determining there are 313 stags (males), 798 does (females) and 214 fawns (babies) in Nara Park. That’s an increase of 92 from last year, and a total of 1,325 deer.

But what does this have to do with tourism?

Despite Nara being home to attractions like Todaiji Temple, one of the world’s largest wooden structures, the majority of tourists come to meet the deer, who are known for bowing politely when given a cracker. Stalls around Nara sell these special rice bran “Shika Senbei” treats, which are safe for the deer to eat.

Nobuyuki Yamazaki of the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation told CNN that “a constant increase in the number of deer crackers eaten has resulted in more active reproduction of the deer. There are also more tourists visiting the park, and the deer can get the crackers more easily.”

However, not all of the human-deer interactions are positive ones. Some deer have become too accustomed to having people around and too eager to snatch a cracker out of a tourist’s hand.

“As the number of deer and humans increase, so does the number of problems,” Yamazaki added. “In recent