Nara Park in western Japan began offering tips Tuesday on how to safely feed wild deer inhabiting the park amid a growing number of foreigners reporting getting injured by the animals.

The 660-hectare park encompassing the famous Todaiji Temple and Kasugataisha Shrine has been a major tourist attraction as visitors can give special crackers to over 1,000 deer on the premises.

But its popularity has led to a record 180 injury reports in fiscal 2017, with 138 of them involving foreigners, according to the park.

Given the large proportion of foreigners, the Nara prefectural government set up instruction panels in English, Chinese and Japanese at stands where visitors buy the crackers, telling them to give the food immediately as teasing would make the deer angry.

It also urges feeders to show their hands to deer to let them know the food is finished.

Caroline Kaiser, a graphic designer from Luxembourg who is now on her third trip to Nara, welcomed the move, saying she always gets unsettled when trying to feed the deer that gather around her. On her latest visit, the 43-year-old said, she was bitten on the buttocks.

The deer at the park are protected as a national treasure.