According to local reports, the alligator is estimated to be five-years-old and is 5 1/2 to 6 feet long. Volunteers with the Chicago Herpetological Society trapped the animal, and plan to send the female reptile back to a sanctuary in the Southeast United States.

The Herpetological Society told reporters that this is the first time an alligator has been found in the river, and they think it may have been put into the river recently as it would not have likely survived the winter season. Of course, no one yet knows how or why the gator was in the river, but the there were reportedly suspicions of it being an abandoned pet. There is a ban on owning alligators and certain other reptiles in Illinois.

Workers in an industrial area near the river spotted the alligator and called the authorities.