Nine deer at a famed park in western Japan have died recently after swallowing plastic bags.

近日，日本西部一个著名公园的9只鹿因吞食塑料袋而死亡。

Nara Park has more than 1,000 deer and tourists can feed them special sugar-free crackers sold in shops nearby. The crackers don’t come in plastic bags, but people still carry them. A veterinarian says the deer may associate the plastic with food.

奈良公园有1000多只鹿，游客可以给它们喂食附近商店出售的特殊无糖饼干。这种饼干没有装在塑料袋里，但人们仍然喜欢用随身携带的含包装袋的饼干或零食来喂鹿。一位兽医说，鹿很可能会把塑料与食物联系在一起。

The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation says nine of the 14 deer that have died since March had plastic in their stomachs. Masses of tangled plastic litter and packets of snacks were retrieved from their stomachs.

奈良鹿保护基金会说，自3月份以来死亡的14只鹿中有9只胃里有塑料。人们从他们的胃里取出了一大堆乱糟糟的塑料垃圾和一包包的零食。

Veterinarian Rie Maruko told Kyodo News the dead deer were so skinny he could feel their bones.

兽医Rie Maruko告诉记者，鹿死的时候非常瘦，都能摸到它们的骨头。

Deer have four-chambered stomachs. If they can’t digest what they eat, they can die from malnutrition and weakened immune systems.

鹿有四室胃，如果它们不能消化所吃的东西，它们可能死于营养不良和免疫系统衰弱。