This is the moment a frightened stag is saved from drowning in a fish pond after being tranquilised by rangers.

Mr Zhang, a resident in the district of Dafeng in the city of Yancheng located in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, said he was passing a fish pond in the Jiangsu Dafeng Elk National Nature Reserve on 1st September when he spotted a stressed deer unable to get out.

He called the police and officers were the first on the scene along with a small group of local residents.

A Nature Reserve spokesperson said it was difficult for the police and helpers to lift the stag up the steep cement slopes, adding that the animal became even more stressed and tired.

Officers contacted the Nature Reserve and requested assistance, with rangers arriving on the scene to enter the water in a boat to get close to the stag and tranquilise it.

The rescue team then lifted the stag’s limp body up the steep slopes to safety and waited for the tranquiliser to wear off.

The anaesthetised stag eventually came round, gathered its bearings, and walked off into the overgrowth, as seen at the end of the video.

The Jiangsu Dafeng Elk National Nature Reserve spokesperson said: “The stag may have fallen into the fish pond and became frightened while foraging for food and drinking water.

“Fortunately, helpful people called the police in time.”