A three-legged deer apparently hit by a car has been taken care of at a deer protection facility in Nara City, with there being no end to deer involved in car accidents around Nara Park.
The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, which took care of the deer, asked people to drive slowly and be careful of deer around the park to help prevent accidents that could claim their lives.
The deer was found with a broken bone in her left hind leg near Nara National Museum in December last year and was taken to Rokuen, the deer protection facility in Nara Park. The injured part of the leg then began to necrosis and was amputated about 30 centimeters from the toe to prevent infection. She was still able to walk around on three legs and finished her treatment in early February.
The deer gave birth in May. Some wondered if she would be able to raise a fawn safely, but immediately after she gave birth, she did not leave her baby's side, just like any other mother deer, and tried to chase away any male deer that came near. The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation said members were relieved to see the deer doing its best to raise her baby.
The fawn grew up nicely and was released into the park. The mother deer will continue to be taken care of at Rokuen.
There were 105 traffic accidents involving deer living in Nara Park during a one-year period to June this year, according to a survey conducted by the foundation.
Of the 308 deer that died in the park, 49 were believed to have been victims of traffic accidents, up 15 from the previous year. In some cases, accidents were not reported, or the deer were not found because they died in the mountains.
"We think more deer are actually involved in accidents," an official from the foundation said.
The prefectural government has taken a variety of countermeasures to help prevent accidents, for example, paving road surfaces in color, placing signs at the median on roads where accidents are common, to warn people about deer crossing the road, and installing guidance fences to prevent deer from walking anywhere other than the crosswalks.
"There are many cars speeding around Nara Park," a veterinarian who treated the deer said. "We want people to be aware of the possibility that at any moment, a deer could jump out in front of their car."
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