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Another alligator found in northern MN

An alligator captured near Pillager in Cass County Tuesday was the third gator spotted in north central Minnesota in recent weeks.
An alligator captured near Pillager in Cass County Tuesday was the third gator spotted in north central Minnesota in recent weeks.

PILLAGER, Minn. - Has Minnesota been mysteriously relocated to Florida?

How else can you explain the relative explosion of alligator sightings (OK, three of them) in the past couple of weeks. The latest was Tuesday afternoon near Pillager in Cass County.

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reports that Cass County deputies landed a 30-inch alligator on Hardy Lake with a fishing net and the help of a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer. The young gator was first spotted Monday on the north end of the lake, sunning itself on the beach.

Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch said if the alligator was much bigger, his deputies wouldn't have known what to do.

"I might be OK if it's a couple feet long," he said. "But if it's 6 or 8 feet, I'm going the other way."

"We deal with bears at certain times of the year," he added. "Occasionally we get cougar sightings. This is the first time I recall ever dealing with an alligator."

The capture on Hardy Lake followed a report of another alligator in Sylvan Township. Before that came the capture of a small alligator in Crow Wing County July 9 crossing a bike trail just south of Brainerd. Deputies found the little gator in tall grass, and called Kevin Vogel from the nearby Safari North Wildlife Park. Lt. Joel Meyer of the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office tells MPR that Vogel drove out and just grabbed the 3-foot alligator with his bare hands.

Both recently captured alligators live with Vogel now at Safari North.

Meyer said it's likely the alligators were pets that either got loose or were set free.

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