The Ezo sika deer (Cervus Nippon yesoensis), in Japanese エゾシカ / 蝦夷鹿, in the First Nations people language of Japan The Ainu “ユク yuk.” These deer are but one of the many subspecies of the sika deer that I photograph during my annual Japan photo workshops. The sika deer that inhabit the island of Hokkaido are endemic, although it is not known whether they originated on Hokkaido or migrated from the main island of Japan, Honshu. Hokkaido deer are the largest sika deer subspecies, where stags can easily weigh over 440 pounds (200 kg); they also have large antlers with lengths recorded well over 100 inches (254 cm).
Annually, I lead visiting international photographers on my annual Hokkaido wildlife tour photo workshop, where we have dozens of up close and personal encounters with sika deer on Japan’s most northern island. And where I have photographed the largest herd of Sika Deer on our planet on several occasions, the collected herd numbering a thousand or even more. Only a handful of photographers have ever photographed this large herd gathered in one location. Still, because I am a Hokkaido local, only a few local adventurers and I know the routes that lead to them. Still, even fewer have the know-how, skill, and trusted team necessary to get there and back before high tide blocks you in and you are forced to overnight in tents or SUVs, a phenomenon that has never happened to me yet. Some international and Tokyo region-based photo workshop leaders claim that they are expert wilderness explorers and are expedition pros at leading clients on a safe winter wonderland adventure in Hokkaido, where blizzards and freezing temperatures are common in winter. But in truth, many have next to no experience in harsh weather conditions that can occur in the blink of an eye during the winter season; most photo workshop leaders spend a few days, maybe a week or 2, scouting the area. I have led Hokkaido wildlife workshops for over two decades in all seasons, and I am prepared for whatever conditions arise.
To spot and photograph the largest herd of Sika deer on the planet, the weather conditions have to be just right. Before I head out with participants, usually the night before during dinner, I explain the route is a tricky technical 4x4ing drive, sometimes over ice, and the herd of deer might have already departed the region. After explaining my plan for the day to photograph the largest herd of Hokkaido deer on our planet and its difficulties, I give participants the option to go out and photograph other wildlife with my assistant photographer. Usually, about half of our group who may have motion sickness or don’t feel up to the challenge head out with my assistant photographer. But those participants with a strong stomach and nerves of steel spirit will join me and take the Hokkaido deer photographs of a lifetime. Still, as I mentioned above, it’s always possible the deer may not cooperate. On some occasions, the sika deer stampeded past our SUVs while we were on the drive-in, and, of course, we got some fantastic shots, but not the panorama portrait of the herd staring us down. This phenomenon of the herd all coming together in one spot only occurs 1-2 times an entire winter, and in 2023, I will be watching the weather charts closely, like a Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), watching for prey, these raptors are an ice relic, which has stuck around for not one but three ice age, never needing to evolve.