A 6-foot alligator was found prowling outside of a church in Southern Michigan. Officials aren't entirely sure how it got there.

They were sure, however, that the reptile is lucky it got found when it did.

With the size of the alligator and its good health, zoo officials estimate that it probably was just recently released into the wild, a Blackman-Leoni safety department official said in a release, according to mlive.com With freezing temperatures coming, the alligator would not have been able to survive long.

Officials who arrive on the scene managed to slip a noose around the gators neck and duct tape its mouth shut. It will likely be moved to a sanctuary, according to MSNBC.

The gator was first found by a father with his two young girls, whom MSNBC reported said they were not scared by the big predator.

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