A wild sika deer was found trapped in an 8-meter-deep ditch in Hangzhou’s Lin’an District on July 21.

The South China sika deer is one of the the only subspecies known to remain in the wild in China. The former exists in fragmented populations of around 300 in southeast China, while the latter is found in a single population of over 400. The feral population is likely to be much higher than the wild, though most of them are descended from domesticated sikas of mixed subspecies. 

“One of its leg was injured. The deer was trying to stand up but failed,” said Li Bowen, a local policeman.

An anesthesiologist from the Qingliangfeng Mountain Management Bureau anesthetized the deer. "We used the blanket to blindfold the eer, and then fixed its limbs. Rescuers standing above the aqueduct pulled the rope upward, and the rescuers below slowly sent the deer upward,” Li Bowen said. 

The deer was sent to the ground after half an hour. 

“The deer did not struggle as if knowing we were rescuing it,” Li added. 

The deer is still under treatment at the Qingliangfeng Mountain Management Bureau.