Q.How many deer are there in Nara Park?
Published 2026-06-11
Answer
1,465 — as of the July 2025 census, the highest count since comparable surveys began in 1953. The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation has been counting them by hand every summer for over 70 years.
Counted by hand, every July
The deer population is surveyed every July by the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation. The July 2025 count found 1,465 deer (315 males, 816 females, 334 fawns) — up 140 from the previous year and the highest figure since comparable surveys began in 1953. Roughly 70 years of continuous data make this one of the world's rarer long-term wildlife records.
1,465deer counted in July 2025 (record high)
Since 1953of comparable annual surveys
+140increase from the previous year
A millennium as sacred deer, 68 years as a National Monument
Reverence for Nara's deer dates back to the founding of Kasuga Taisha in 768. Legend holds that the shrine's deity, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, arrived on a white deer from Kashima in present-day Ibaraki, and the deer have been protected as sacred messengers ever since. In 1957 they were designated a National Natural Monument — covering not just Nara Park but the entire city of Nara.
Behind the numbers: the challenge of coexistence
Behind the record high lie harder numbers: 140 deer died in the year from July 2024, 36 of them in traffic accidents. With tourists and deer increasing at the same time, the census data reflects a real coexistence challenge — not just cuteness. The year-by-year data by sex and age is published by the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation (linked from our catalog, as reproduction is not permitted).