6-foot alligator caught in Michigan

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JACKSON, Mich., Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Police in Michigan said they captured a 6-foot alligator reported roaming near a church.

The Blackman-Leoni Township public safety department said officers responded about 11:35 a.m. Monday to a call about an alligator wandering near Pathway Community Church in Jackson, the Jackson Citizen-Patriot reported Tuesday.

Officers captured the alligator with a noose and duct-taped its mouth shut with the help of a passerby who said he has experience owning alligators.

Public safety Deputy Director Jon Johnston said the alligator would be taken to a sanctuary in Athens, Mich.

"With the size of the alligator and its good health, zoo officials estimate that it probably was just recently released into the wild," Johnston said. "With freezing temperatures coming, the alligator would not have been able to survive long."