Deer Than People in One Japanese City Is Not As Cute As It Might Seem

Article of the Week Mrs. Wiegner’s Penn’s Grove Middle School More Deer Than People In One Japanese City Is Not As Cute As It Might Seem Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES using the CLOSE reading strategies practiced in class. This requires reading the article three times. Step 1: Skim the article using these symbols as you read: (+) agree, (-) disagree, (*) important, (!) surprising, and (?) wondering Step 2: Number the paragraphs. Read the article carefully and make notes in the margin. Notes should include: ● Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main idea of important sections may serve this purpose.) ● Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read. ● Notes that differentiate between fact and opinion. ● Observations about how the writer’s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective, support) and choices affect the article. Step 3: A final quick read noting anything you may have missed during the first two reads. Your margin notes are a part of your score for this assessment. Answer the questions carefully in complete sentences unless otherwise instructed. Student Name: __________________________________ Class Period: ___________ More Deer Than People In One Japanese City Is Not Notes on my thoughts, reactions, and questions as I As Cute As It Might Seem read: TOKYO, Japan - Tourists love the ancient Japanese city of Nara, which is famous for its old Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. It is also famous for its deer. Every year, hordes of tourists flock to Nara, just south of Kyoto. They come to experience the peace of the historic sites and the playfulness of the 1,200 or so deer that freely roam through the park in the middle of these sites. However, the number of deer in Nara is about to get significantly smaller. The local government in Nara is starting on its first cull of the deer, which were named a natural treasure by the Japanese government in 1957. A cull is when certain animals or a certain number of animals are selected to be killed. The deer are said to be the divine messengers of the Kasuga Grand shrine. The shine is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Nara's main attractions. The deer are maintained under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. However, Nara authorities applied to the Cultural Affairs Agency in Tokyo for permission to cull the deer because of the agricultural damage that they have caused. The deer are blamed for eating rice, bamboo and vegetable crops. Permission was granted and authorities have already started setting out box traps to try to capture 120 of the deer on the eastern fringes of the park. The deer will then be killed, a detail that is curiously missing from most Japanese newspaper reports. Article of the Week Mrs. Wiegner’s Penn’s Grove Middle School More Deer Than People In One Japanese City Is Not As Cute As It Might Seem Notes on my thoughts, Nara's park office had received some complaints from locals about the cull, said reactions, and questions as I Yuichiro Kitabata, deputy head of the office. The deer being killed are not the ones in read: the park but outside it, he said. Under a new policy introduced last year, Nara park will be considered a "priority protection zone." The area around it will be a "semi-priority protection zone" where deer will still be protected. Deer will be safe from the cull in Nara park but less safe outside the park. But in the "borderline zone," deer found damaging farmers' crops can be captured and killed. Also, deer anywhere else can be caught and killed under any circumstances, the Japan Times reported last year. Local officials like Kitabata have been stressing that the deer in the park are safe, but this presumes that the deer know the boundaries. "Nara has a long history of people living side by side with deer in harmony," another government official told the Asahi Shimbun, a daily newspaper in Japan. "We want to continue efforts to coexist in peace while preventing damage to crops." The deer in and around Nara park pose a danger to people as well as crops. Bambi they are not. The deer have grown used to hordes of tourists wanting to feed them special deer crackers that are for sale all around the park. The deer can be forceful in trying to get the snacks. A record 121 people were injured by deer in the park last year, according to local government figures. Among the injured, 77 of them were Chinese tourists, the Mainichi Shimbun news reported in May. The majority of the injuries occurred while feeding the deer. Most injuries were minor, although one person broke a bone and six needed stitches. Tourism to Nara is growing steadily, so the park has installed signs in English, Chinese and Korean. The signs are warning visitors about being bitten or charged at by deer. But it is not just their behavior but their numbers that are a problem. Japan's human population might be shrinking but its deer population is booming. Deer now outnumber humans in Nara by almost 2 to 1. Experts estimate that could rise to 3 to 1 in the next five years, according to Rocket News. The government-run organization "Let's Make The Deer Population More Sustainable And Enjoy Nara Again Friendship Association" is trying to lower the deer population by less extreme means. They are allowing people to adopt a deer and take it home. The group hopes that this will be a humane method of dealing with the deer overpopulation, Rocket News reported in April. No word yet on how many people – Japanese or foreign tourists – have taken the group up on its offer. Article of the Week Mrs. Wiegner’s Penn’s Grove Middle School More Deer Than People In One Japanese City Is Not As Cute As It Might Seem Comprehension Questions -- answers may be in phrases 1. What does coexist mean, as used in this article? 2. What MOST influenced Nara’s deer to attack tourists? 3. What does cull mean, as defined by this article? 4. What is a more humane option than to cull Nara’s deer? 5. Under this new policy, where will deer be most protected? Answer each question in one or more complete sentences and by providing complete explanations. 1. Based on inference, explain why most Japanese newspapers left out the fact the deer will be killed. 2. What effect will the deer cull have on this Japanese city? (Think about what is causing the cull) Article of the Week Mrs. Wiegner’s Penn’s Grove Middle School More Deer Than People In One Japanese City Is Not As Cute As It Might Seem 3. Pick a detail from this article. Explain how it helps you understand the bigger ideas in the article. Write out your answer. 4. Do you agree with the culling of the deer in Nara? Why or why not? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. This assignment addresses the following PA Core ELA Standards: CC 1.2.7.A,B,C,D,E,F,H,J,K,L .

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