Police in Michigan are investigating an apparent case of animal cruelty after they say a woman found an alligator outside her home with its mouth bound shut.

A Romulus Police Department emergency dispatcher said the shocking discovery by officers happened this week after a woman "calmly called" the police station to report the finding.

"We don't know where it came from or how it got there," police Deputy Chief Derran Shelby told USA TODAY on Thursday.

Shelby said the woman who reported finding the gator lived in a apartment complex in the north end of the town, just west of the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

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'Well I'll be'

Here's how police say the call went:

"Yes, um ... (faint laughter in the background) I live over at (redacted) and there is a crocodile or an alligator on my back patio," the woman said to an officer who answered the phone.

A somewhat skeptical sergeant replies: "Can you send a picture of it?" (After he determined no one was in danger.)

After the woman sent the photo, the sergeant replies: "Well I'll be ... Dispatch!"

The sergeant then notified dispatch and the reptile was removed from the woman's porch, Shelby said.

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Relocated to a new home

It was not immediately known whether the animal was someone's pet.

"I'm glad we were able to get the animal," Derran said Thursday.

He said the alligator, which spanned about 4-feet in length, was captured by a local wildlife expert who will relocate it to a new home.

On Thursday police continued to investigate how the reptile got there, who placed the rope over its mouth and why.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund.