Residents of an eastern Ontario community have been warned by police to beware near a local creek, where a creature believed to be an alligator was photographed earlier this week.
Brian Foley, the chief of the Stirling-Rawdon Police Service, northwest of Belleville, said the animal was photographed by a local resident at the Mill Pond on July 15.
The photograph was posted to Facebook and made available through the police service.
Foley said the public should use caution around the pond and along Rawdon Creek until the animal is removed or experts determine there to be no threat.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has been contacted and is investigating the sighting.
Anyone who spots the reptile should call police or the provincial ministry.
Animal control experts say young reptiles are often purchased as pets and disposed of when they grow large.
In 2010, animal control officers searched for a crocodile or alligator that had been photographed swimming in a Hamilton pond. The search was eventually called off without a capture.
In 2009, a small alligator was caught after being spotted near a London, Ont., storm pond.
With files from The Canadian Press
