It is cruising through the murky waters of an eastern Ontario pond, has eluded capture for weeks and has morphed into an urban legend.

Man-eating sea creature? Experts say it’s probably a caiman, a relative of the alligator that is a greater threat to unsuspecting bugs and frogs than to people and their pets.

The chase began three weeks ago, when “someone called in and said there was an alligator in the pond,” said Brian T. Foley, police chief of Stirling-Rawdon.

Although his first response was “um, yeah, okay,” the doubting Foley sent Sgt. James Orr to the town’s Mill Pond anyway. The officer scoured the area, a town 30 minutes northwest of Belleville, for days but found nothing. Word of the caiman quickly spread through the small community and its reputation grew until it became the area’s own sea monster.

When local resident Ron Main heard about the myth from his uncle, he was incredulous, but still had to investigate. He saw nothing last Monday. But the next day he saw it: a metre-long spectacled caiman with its head poking out of the water, not too far from the pond’s fountain. His blurry photos couldn’t convince his friends that the reptile existed. He needed to get close, in daylight, to snap an acceptable photograph.

On Friday, Main had a hunch. He crawled, slowly, for 45 minutes to the perfect spot on the edge of the water where the caiman bobbed just a few metres away.

“I got the camera out slow, hoping it didn’t go beep, then snapped a picture,” Main said. Then the caiman went under for 45 minutes, poked back up briefly, sunk back down and vanished into the water.

Later that night, Main showed the picture to police, who then contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The ministry, unequipped to deal with such reptiles, commissioned Bry Loyst, curator of the Indian River Reptile Zoo, a non-profit organization near Peterborough, to capture the reptile.

“The last (option) would be jumping on it like Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter,” Loyst said.

He’ll likely use a snare and lasso and, if caught, he’ll house the caiman at his zoo. Loyst said the caiman was likely a pet that the owner got tired of.

Loyst was part of a similar search in Hamilton in May 2010 when a bird watcher captured a photograph of an alligator. But that reptile was never seen again.

While Foley warned residents their dogs or children could be in danger, an alligator and crocodile scientist said there probably isn’t much to worry about.

“A three-foot long gator usually eats frogs, bugs and snails,” said Frank Mazzotti, a researcher with the University of Florida. “They wouldn’t eat small birds or rats or mice until it’s about five feet long.”

The caiman would attack only if cornered, Mazzotti said, adding he’s guessing the reptile is at least 3 years old, but could be as old as 6 or 7.

“An alligator of this size might break the skin and cause some bruising and cuts, but certainly couldn’t sever a finger or even take down a Chihuahua,” Mazzotti said.

“The greatest danger is to the animal itself.”

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While the cold-blooded species may be able to survive in the pond’s warm, shallow waters, it won’t survive long when the temperature drops.

Caimans will not eat in water temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius and cold temperatures make them lethargic, Mazzotti said.