Authorities in the city of Osaka, western Japan, are urging people to be careful as a series of deer sightings have been reported in residential areas.
Police say they received multiple reports at around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday that a deer was walking on streets near the Zengenji district of the city’s Miyakojima ward. The location is about 3 kilometers from JR Osaka Station.
A deer was sighted also on Monday. Footage taken by an NHK camera at around 3 p.m. captured a deer on the premises of a residential complex in the Tomobuchi district of the same ward.
The deer looked calm. It was walking slowly and stopping to groom itself.
Osaka officials say deer sightings were also reported in the wards of Tsurumi and Joto in the city’s eastern part on Saturday and Sunday.
Earlier in March, a deer was also spotted in the city of Higashiosaka, which is adjacent to Nara Prefecture.
City officials say it remains unclear if the deer sighted were the same ones. They say the deer may have come from Nara Park, which is known for its free-roaming deer.
The officials say the deer has not shown any signs of harming people so far and they will not immediately capture or cull the animal. Instead, they say they will monitor the situation, while looking for a facility that could take the deer in.
Osaka Mayor Yokoyama Hideyuki told reporters that judging from the route where a deer was found, it seems quite possible that it came from Nara Park.
But he said deer in the park are not managed under an individual identification system so it seems difficult to identify them.
The mayor urged people to avoid approaching the deer even if they see them, as the animals may become agitated.
An expert familiar with deer ecology says there is no evidence to confirm that the deer spotted in Osaka City came from Nara Park.
Takagi Toshihito is a lecturer at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences of Kobe College.
He said that in general, deer can travel long distances — sometimes close to 100 kilometers. He said it is possible for them to cross Mount Ikoma to move from Nara Park to Osaka.
Takagi said that if a deer did so, one possible explanation is the animal’s overpopulation in the park. He noted that the deer population there has grown so dense that food has become scarce, and that this may drive some individuals to move elsewhere.
Takagi also warned people not to touch wild deer. He said the deer spotted in Osaka is small but has antlers. He said deer may attack with their antlers and also can carry ticks, which pose a risk of infectious diseases.
AloJapan.com