WAUKEGAN, IL - Police confirmed Monday that a caiman -- a relative to the alligator -- was found swimming in Lake Michigan before it was rescued by animal control.

In a Facebook post published Monday, the city of Waukegan said the four-foot long caiman alligator was spotted "swimming slowly" in the lake before the Waukegan Police Animal Control and a local marine service captured it.

#waukeganpolice - It is not every day someone reports an alligator in Lake Michigan and the report is true. This time... Posted by City of Waukegan on Monday, October 8, 2018

According to The Chicago Tribune, the caiman was found by a fisherman who was hoping to catch salmon in the lake. At first he thought it was a dead salmon, but then realized it was something completely different.

"I went closer to see if it was real," said David Castaneda. "I was just in shock. I wasn't sure if it was a real alligator or a toy."

The caiman's mouth had been taped shut according to a curator at Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, where the caiman was transported for care. The reptile only had a couple more weeks to live if it had not been rescued.

Although it has been referred to as an actual alligator, the caiman is slightly different than the more well known alligator.

Caiman's come from the same family as crocodiles and alligators and are typically more slender and have more teeth than crocodiles and alligators. It is unknown if the animal was abandoned in the lake or not.