Alligator removed from pond next to Michigan school

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A pond next to a Michigan school was drained to remove a stray alligator spotted swimming loose by a teacher.

The creature spotted swimming last week by a teacher at Bedford Junior High School in Temperance was initially thought to be a caiman, a smaller cousin of the alligator, but experts later said the animal appears to be an American alligator.

The reptile was removed from the school's Biology Pond once officials took measures to drain it, leaving the gator stranded in mud and shallow water.

The alligator was taken to the Indian Creek Zoo in Lambertville.

The owner of the zoo said the alligator was likely a pet that either escaped or was abandoned by its owner after growing too large to keep.