This is the heartwarming moment a timid young cougar was released back into the wild after spending hours trapped at the top of a tree when it lost its mum.

The cub, aged about ten months, had been found hiding in a tree in a street in the municipality of Cravinhos, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, on Monday, November 6.

But when firefighters and vets arrived to help it down the big scaredy cat refused to budge and stayed put in the branches nearly all day.

When vets eventually rescued the cougar it was taken to an animal refuge where it spent the night before being released back into the wild the next day on Tuesday, November 7.

Video footage of the release shows the big cat leaping out of an opened cage and tearing off through the long grass and trees at the Jatai Ecological Station.

Fabio Barreto Zoo biologist Pedro Favaretto, who had checked the cub's health, said: 'We collected biological material for examination, and microchipped the cub.

'The microchip is an ID, which is located in the animal's subcutaneous tissue. When we scan it, it gives the animal's unique number.

'If this cougar is captured again, we have a mechanism to identify that she has already been captured once and we have a history.'

He explained that even though the young cougar closely resembles a very large domestic cat, it is a very dangerous wild animal.

Favaretto said: 'It's a cougar, native to our region. It's a big cat, the biggest cat in our region.

'It's a big cat, it has the same characteristics as a domestic cat, but it's a wild, wild animal and dangerous.

'It is an animal that, when pressured, can hurt and even seriously injure.'

Favaretto explained that the frequent sightings of cougars in cities and towns are caused by the destruction of their natural homes.

He said: 'Recently we noticed that cougar cubs have appeared in our region and although it is positive in the sense that they are reproducing, it is negative because it signals a lack of habitat.

'When the animal goes to the city, it looks for space, an area of ​​dominance, a territory, in addition to seeking food.'