Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

Newsflash/@okadennis

In scenes straight out of I Am Legend, wild deer have roamed into a nearly deserted Japanese city in search of food amid the outbreak of COVID-19 after visitor numbers to nearby nature parks dropped sharply.

Deer which would usually be fed by visitors to nearby nature parks have been filmed roaming the streets of Nara, a city in the southern Japanese prefecture of the same name, just like in the 2007 post-apocalyptic movie with Will Smith, I Am Legend.

According to local media, the deer are being forced out of their natural habitats in search of food as visitor numbers have sharply decreased since the spread of COVID-19.

As more residents self-isolate at home, herds of deer are entering the city in search of food.

Newsflash/@okadennis

Residents have posted videos of the animals eating grass in the city centre and roaming the train station like scenes from the 2007 film ‘I Am Legend’.

According to reports, the Shunie festival takes place between 1st and 14th March, but tourist numbers are down by 80 percent.

The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation told residents that this is not the first time that deer have entered the city and not to worry about their presence.

They also said that they are unsure how much the local deer population has grown in the last year.

As of Monday, Japan has 839 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 22 reported deaths.

The first case in the country was confirmed on 16th January.

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