Warning sign in Nara Park, Japan
I first learned of the wild, roaming deer of Nara Park from a blog post by Stephanie at Twenty-Something Travel.
Eventually I found my way to Japan earlier this year, and visited Nara Park myself, as it’s an easy day trip from Kyoto.
According to local folklore, deer from this area were considered sacred due to a visit from one of the four gods of Kasuga Shrine, Takenomikazuchi-no-mikoto. He was said to have been invited from Kashima, Ibaraki, and appeared on Mt. Mikasa-yama riding a white deer. From that point, the deer were considered divine and sacred by both Kasuga Shrine and K?fuku-ji. – Wikipedia
Thankfully, neither of us had any rough encounters with biting, kicking, head-butting deer! 
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2 Comments
Those biting-kicking-headbutting sacred deer can be menacing!
They were badass!