People using a lakeside bike trail in central Minnesota might expect to encounter some wildlife along the way. But not an alligator.
But that is what Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Meyer’s department was called upon to capture Saturday afternoon on a trail southwest of Brainerd. Meyer says it was a department first.
He tells the Star Tribune his deputies weren’t keen to volunteer to capture the 3-foot gator, especially as the reptile was aggressive. So the department asked the nearby Safari North Wildlife Park to help trap the reptile.
The deputies later posed for a photo with the alligator, but only after its snout was taped shut.
Meyer says the alligator was probably an escaped or illegally released pet.
Brainerd is about 125 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.