NEW RIVER GORGE, WV (WOWK) – A deer needed a little help getting free from a ravine in the New River Gorge National Park.

According to the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, New River Gorge National Park rangers received a report that a white-tailed deer appeared to be stranded in a steep creek ravine.

Rangers said they checked on the deer and gave it time to “self-rescue” and then tried to shoo it up the creek, but it would not move. They say it then became apparent that between the sheer cliffs, water and the falls, there were too many barriers for the deer to escape on its own.

The rangers then called the DNR for assistance. The DNR says, for the safety of both the deer and the rescuers, the agencies tranquilized the deer.

Rangers say they were then able to secure the deer in a harness and lift it out of the ravine. The DNR says their personnel and the rangers then assisted the “groggy” deer to a safe place to rest and recover.