The deer supplement their diet with crackers given to them by tourists, but these crackers are made of wheat flour and rice bran and are unbalanced in nutritional content. While the deer in the park are chronically malnourished, the average life expectancy is 20 years, much longer than in the wild, because humans care for injured, sick, and pregnant deer. Meanwhile, according to the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, the average weight of a five-year-old male deer as of 2018 was 74 kg, even though deer in Nara Park are genetically smaller than deer elsewhere.
Deer obtain their diet from crackers provided by tourists, which are made of wheat flour and rice bran but lack balanced nutritional content. Despite chronic malnutrition, the average lifespan in the park is 20 years, longer than in the wild due to human care for injured, sick, and pregnant deer. According to the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, a five-year-old male deer in Nara Park weighed 74 kg as of 2018, despite being genetically smaller than deer elsewhere.