Story By: Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor:  Joseph Golder,  Agency: Newsflash

Video Credit: Newsflash/@jurock99

This is the moment a daredevil raccoon being rescued from the top of a tree by firefighters leaps from the cherry picker to the ground far below and survives.

The startling scenes were recorded after passersby spotted the raccoon in the tree in the city of Berdsk in Novosibirsk Oblast in south-central Russia.

Local media report a passerby who saw the animal in the tree called her friend who is an amateur climber and often helps rescue cats from similar situations.

However, when the man tried to save the raccoon it reportedly ran further up the tree and onlookers then called the firefighters who arrived with a cherry picker.

In the video, the raccoon can be seen in the branches when a firefighter in a cherry picker can be seen in the tree.

However, the raccoon can then be seen tumbling through the air from after it reportedly jumped from the cherry picker out of fear.

Onlookers reportedly rushed to help the raccoon after its fall and reports on social media state the animal survived the impact with no major injuries. The animal’s unnamed owner was reportedly found and it was returned home.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.