Sika deer lupus hodophilax"), over a century ago. Without its main enemy, the population of sika exploded and it is now overpopulated in many areas, posing a threat to both forests and farmlands. Efforts are now being made to control its population instead of conserving it. None of its subspecies is endangered except the Kerama deer ("C. n. keramae") in the tiny Kerama Islands. In 2015, Japanese Ministry of the Environment estimated the population at 3,080,000 in Japan, including Hokkaido. China used to have the largest population of sika, but thousands of years of hunting and habitat loss have reduced the population
Pack animal Pack animal A pack animal or beast of burden is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft animals which pull loads but do not carry them. Traditional pack animals are diverse including camels, goats, yaks, reindeer, water buffaloes, and llamas as well as the more familiar pack animals like horses, donkeys and mules. The term "pack animal" is traditionally used in contrast to "draft animal", which is a working animal that typically pulls a load behind itself