A deer which captured the hearts of local residents has died of “stress” after a bureaucratic tussle between two branches of local government.

The white tailed deer, which likely swam across New York’s East River in search of a mate, was seen for two weeks at the Jackie Robinson Park in the city.

After the animal - dubbed ‘JR’ and ‘Lefty’ because of his missing antler - jumped a fence into a housing complex, he was tranquilised, captured and held in an animal sanctuary.

The affair led to a spat between New York City officials and New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The tussle has been interpreted to represent the broader feud between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

City officials said from the start they were going to euthanise the deer because of the potentially fatal stress moving it could bring.

“If a deer is already in a natural location and you can leave them there, then they have a chance of survival, but if not, you don’t really have another option,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told local radio.

“It’s a question of is it going to be a quick and merciful death versus potentially a very long painful process.”

However, Gov Cuomo responded by offering state help to remove the deer – going against standard procedure not to remove the animals for the very reason cited by Mr de Blasio.

“We want to do everything we can to save the Harlem deer,” Mr Cuomo wrote on Twitter, citing the DEC, even after the city government rejected his offer.

A string of contradictory and competitive statements were released by both departments in response to each other.

After “repeated attempts to provide the City with alternative options to euthanasia,” DEC officials then travelled to the animal shelter where the deer was being held but the deer died, purportedly of stress, before it could be moved.

DEC spokesman Sean Mahar said: “We offered yesterday to take possession of the deer and transport it to a suitable habitat. The City did not accept our offer until just before noon today, and while we were arriving on scene the deer died in the City's possession.”

Norway's radioactive reindeer Show all 6 1 /6 Norway's radioactive reindeer Norway's radioactive reindeer There are more than 30,000 reindeer in Norway Although the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine happened nearly 30 years ago and more than a thousand miles from Norway, the country's reindeer are still suffering from increased radioactivity. Amos Chapple, RFE/RL Norway's radioactive reindeer A reindeer eats lichen When the disaster happened, larger areas of were covered by clouds of radioactive dust. When it rained or snowed in Norway that dust made its way into the landscape, contaminating everything it touched. Amos Chapple, RFE/RL Norway's radioactive reindeer Semi-domestic reindeer roam freely around Norway's rugged landscape Norway's reindeer feed on lichen, mushrooms and grass. The unusually high radioactivity observed in the reindeer is thought to be linked to this years' bumper crop of mushrooms. Aina Bye Norway's radioactive reindeer Sami heard the reindeer several times a year Norway's indigenous people, the Sami, are known for their reindeer herding. The animals provide a vital source of income for them. Amos Chapple, RFE/RL Norway's radioactive reindeer Reindeer meat is widely eaten in Norway Because of the unusually high radioactivity measured in the reindeer, many are not fit for human consumption and so have been released back into the wild. Aina Bye Norway's radioactive reindeer The legacy of Chenobyl The Sami people of Norway fear that it could be many years before the reindeer return to normal levels of radioactivity. Amos Chapple, RFE/RL

However, the City blamed the DEC. “Unfortunately because of the time we had to wait for DEC to come and transport the deer, the deer has perished,” spokesman Sam Biederman told journalists on Friday.