Japan has a roaming deer infestation.

Japan has a roaming deer infestation.

Japan's native sika deer have become a massive tourist draw in Nara and Miyajima where they are revered as messengers for deities, free to roam around the town. ... The deer populations of Japan's forests and national parks have been exploding causing damage to Japan's ecosystem, agriculture and forestry.

According to local folklore, Sika deer from this area were considered sacred due to a visit from Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, one of the four gods of Kasuga Shrine. ... From that point, the deer were considered divine and sacred by both Kasuga Shrine and Kōfuku-ji.

The Shinto religion and local beliefs hold that a deity named Takemikazuchi arrived in the old capital of Nara on a white deer to act as the city's protector, and as a result, the deer of Nara were considered sacred, messengers of the gods.