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When seventeen year old Zach Ramsey and fourteen year old Casey Sonaty both of rural Newton County went fishing on Sunday they had no idea they were going to bring home a real trophy.

While fishing and frog spearing along the Iroquois River in Jasper County,  near Rensselaer the two young men saw an alligator in the water. They first shot the alligator with a fishing arrow from a bow, but the arrow broke and the alligator went under. The reptile soon re-appeared and the two then tried to spear it with a frog spear but could not penetrate the animals hide. The two realized they needed more firepower, so they left and returned with a twelve gauge shotgun and were able to dispatch the reptile.

The alligator was six feet long and weighed approximately 150 pounds.

"It is pretty sure to say that this animal was raised by someone and got too big and was released" said Indiana Conservation Officer Allan Clark. "Being a coldblooded animal, it is very unlikely an alligator could survive an Indiana winter in the wild" said Clark. Since alligators are not listed as a game specie in Indiana there were no violations in taking the animal.

This summer there have been several reports of alligator sightings in other lakes in the area, but no reports of this animal were received prior to it being taken.