3-foot alligator found sunning itself on Minnesota trail

BRAINERD, Minn., July 14 (UPI) -- A man biking outside a Minnesota town came upon an unexpected sight in the middle of the trail: a 3-foot-long alligator sunning itself.

Dan Fundingsland said he was riding his bicycle on the Paul Bunyan Trail Saturday afternoon about 5 miles southwest of Brainerd when he came across the non-native reptile.

Fundingsland told Lakeland Public Television he was "hoping to see some deer or some turkey" or possibly a bear, but he "didn't see anything really" until his return trip from Crow Wing State Park.

"I saw this thing in the middle of the trail, and I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a stick, and then I thought, 'OK, somebody put a doll or something out here,'" Fundingsland said.

However, he soon realized the object wasn't a doll, it was a live alligator measuring about 3 feet long.

"I didn't expect to see an alligator at all in Minnesota," he said.

The cyclist contacted the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, which dispatched deputies to the scene.

"This is the first time we've received a call about an alligator," Lt. Joe Meyer with the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "It created some anxiety with the deputies. Nobody was volunteering to grab it, that's for sure."

The owner of the nearby Safari North Wildlife Park was summoned to capture the gator, which appeared to be in good health.

Meyer said the alligator is believed to be a pet that either escaped or was released illegally.