Adams County officials made a surprise discovery Monday while investigating the source of a drain blockage. The log jam, which the officials had earlier thought to have been caused by a turtle, turned out to be due to a full-fledged alligator.

An expert at the site estimated the alligator to weigh about 120 pounds and was between seven and 20-years-old at the time of its death, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

According to County Sheriff's deputy Larry Butler, the alligator had been there for about a week and it is understood that it was put inside the drain after it died.

"My gut feeling is that someone put it there to get rid of it," he told the paper.

While it is legal to own an alligator in Indiana, a state permit is required for alligators that are longer than 5 feet. An official with the state Department of Natural Resources' Division of Fish and Wildlife confirms no one in the county currently has a permit for one.