Baby Deer Born At Kashima Shrine Delight Visitors
Baby deer are drawing visitors to Kashima Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo.
Deer at the shrine are said to be messengers of gods, and are carefully taken care of. Births of new deer peak around this time. Two fawns were born this year, on June 6 and 9.
Visitors to the shrine viewed the Bambi-like fawns napping in the sun or hiding behind trees. Some took pictures while others fed the adult deer.
A man in his 60s from Saitama City who was seeing the fawns for the first time said they were very cute. He said they will grow up and make everyone who sees them happy.
Kashima shrine's name includes the character for deer in Chinese characters, and its grounds are home to about 30 Japanese deer.
A junior priest at the shrine, Okazawa Minoru, said the fawns were still at a delicate stage and asked visitors to quietly enjoy watching them grow.