mumbai a jackal was rescued from a city garden on wednesday evening by a group of ngo workers after a man was spotted walking the animal like a dog the jackal was rescued from elephant garden in front of chetana college bandra east where a man was walking it on a chain when questioned the walker insisted that the animal was a dog however he soon left the animal behind and fled the scene the jackal was later handed over to sanjay gandhi national park sgnp authorities the drama unfolded at around 5pm when a social worker fanus syeed saw the man walking what looked like an exotic breed of dog thinking it an alaskan husky syeed took a closer look and became convinced it wasnt a dog the man however insisted it was a dog syeed then alerted members of the ngo ecoecho who immediately reached the garden as people crowded around the animal and an argument ensued over its breed the walker left the animal behind and fled the park said zoologist nitin walmiki who works with ecoecho walmiki said a thorough examination of the animal showed that it was an indian jackal or canis aureus indicus eyewitnesses said the jackal was about five months old and seemed used to human company it was very calm and composed we didnt even need to put a muzzle on it said walmiki this is a clear case of misusing a wild animal as a pet he added the wildlife crime control bureau wccb was contacted for further action there was no doubt that the animal was a jackal and a property of state wildlife we handed it over to sgnp officials said santosh shinde special officer wccb it is mysterious as to how the jackal ended up with the man it is even more surprising that he was walking it in the city around human establishments like one would walk a dog sgnp officials confirmed that the rescued jackal was handed over to them it is being kept under watch until it can be released in the wild wildlife enthusiasts pointed out that jackals have often been spotted near dahisar creek they live in the forest but often wander near the creek this has often been reported to forest officials but to no avail said a wildlife observer this looks like a jackal was stolen from there and sold in the city