Mount Ibuki, a 1,377-meter-high mountain that straddles Shiga and Gifu prefectures and is visited by many climbers, is now on the brink of crisis and is being seriously damaged by wild Japanese sika deer that eat its plants.
In July last year, the mountain’s slopes collapsed due to heavy rains, leading to the closure of hiking trails.
The alpine flower field at the top is on the list of national natural monuments. The city of Maibara in Shiga Prefecture, which is mainly responsible for the mountain’s maintenance, is calling the situation the “Mount Ibuki shock” and is working to restore the mountain’s ecological balance.
