A kayaker fishing for salmon off Waukegan Harbor on Monday morning found an unexpected animal in the water — a 4-foot-long American alligator. 
 
 Chicago resident David Castaneda had been paddling for about four hours when around 9:30 a.m. he saw something floating in the water, he said. Thinking it was a dead salmon, he went closer to check. 
 
 Instead, he saw an alligator head, Castaneda said. 
 
 “I went closer to see if it was real,” he said. “I was just in shock. I wasn’t sure if it was a real alligator or a toy.” 
 
 Castaneda called 911 to report the alligator, and Waukegan’s Animal Control responded. 
 
 The animal, which had its mouth taped shut, “was definitely on borrowed time,” said Rob Carmichael, curator for the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, where the alligator is being taken. 
 
 “I would say it would be lucky if it lived another couple weeks,” Carmichael said. “Lake Michigan is only getting colder and colder each week.” 
 
 Carmichael said he and a veterinarian will assess the alligator’s condition once it arrives. 
 
 The city had initially reported the animal found as a caiman, which is similar to an alligator, but the Wildlife Discovery Center told the city later in the day Monday that it was an American alligator. 
 
 It is unknown how long the animal was in the water with its mouth taped shut, Carmichael added, saying the alligator looked to be on the thin side from what he has seen so far. 
 
 He expects the Discovery Center to know within three to five days how serious the situation is, but as long as there aren’t any major issues like a bacterial infection, Carmichael said he thinks they should be able to get the animal turned around. 
 
 City of Waukegan Nicole Garza, an animal warden for the city of Waukegan, rescues a 4-foot-long alligator that was discovered by a kayaker off Waukegan Harbor in Lake Michigan. Nicole Garza, an animal warden for the city of Waukegan, rescues a 4-foot-long alligator that was discovered by a kayaker off Waukegan Harbor in Lake Michigan. (City of Waukegan) 
 
 An investigation into whether the animal was abandoned, which is a crime, will “absolutely” be conducted, city spokesman David Motley said. 
 
 The abandoning of exotic animals is something that occurs less than it used to as a result of stepped-up state regulations around ownership of endangered or threatened animals, which require permits to own, Carmichael said. 
 
 The system seems to be working, because Carmichael hasn’t seen as many cases like what happened in Waukegan within the last five years, Carmichael said. 
 
 Another time an exotic animal was discovered in Waukegan was in September 2012 when a nearly 14-foot, fully grown Burmese python was found near Waukegan Harbor, according to News-Sun reports. The snake was euthanized due to its wounds the next day. 
 
 An alligator was also discovered in the Chicago River under the Belmont Avenue bridge in August 2010, according to a Chicago Tribune report from the time. 
 
 “There’s a lot more accountability built into the system,” Carmichael said. “It requires people to jump through hoops, and that’s a good thing. It leaves out the people who want to do it for the ‘oh, wow’ factor.” 
 
 Some dangerous animals, like lions, bears or coyotes, are illegal to own under the state’s Dangerous Animals Act. 
 
 emcoleman@tribpub.com 
 
 Twitter @mekcoleman ||||| A four-foot alligator was found in Lake Michigan on Oct. 8, 2018. A kayaker saw the alligator and called the police, who responded to the call with skepticism initially. (Photo: City of Waukegan) 
 
 The City of Waukegan, Illinois, confirmed via a Facebook post Monday that it pulled a 4-foot alligator from Lake Michigan. 
 
 The city said a kayaker saw the alligator swimming slowly in the Waukegan harbor area and called police. Waukegan Police Animal Control retrieved the alligator, which turned out to be an American alligator. The alligator was transferred to the Lake Forest Wildlife Discovery Center. 
 
 "These creatures are not indigenous. You can imagine the skepticism that came with it," said David Motley, the city's director of public relations. 
 
 Waukegan is about 54 miles south of Milwaukee. 
 
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– A kayaker hoping to reel in some salmon on Lake Michigan instead found himself face-to-snout with a 4-foot alligator on Monday. David Castaneda was fishing off Waukegan Harbor when he spotted the reptile swimming slowly with its mouth taped shut, reports the Lake County News-Sun. "I was just in shock," says Castaneda, who sent authorities a video to confirm the alligator wasn't a toy. Once rescued, it was taken to Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, where officials hope to nurse it back to health. Though the animal's condition remains unclear, curator Rob Carmichael says the gator was thin and likely would've died within a couple of weeks as "Lake Michigan is only getting colder and colder." An effort is now being made to trace the foreigner; an investigation will examine whether the exotic animal was abandoned against the law, says city spokesman David Motley. "These creatures are not indigenous," he tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "You can imagine the skepticism that came with it."