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Montreal police deal with a lot of scary characters in their line of work, but the fugitive they faced early Wednesday morning really had some teeth.

A citizen called police around 12:50 a.m. to report seeing a large creature in an alleyway near Ontario St.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Runaway alligator Mr. Ali to return home to Repti-Zone Back to video

When police arrived, they found what appeared to be a young alligator out for a late-night stroll. Officers carefully cornered the creature while they waited for backup from the Berger Blanc animal shelter.

The young reptile was eventually captured and caged. Mr. Ali — which, it turns out, is the name of the scaly fellow — had escaped from his transport container and left the apartment of his owner, Emilia Gaudry.

Gaudry owns Repti-Zone, a company that helps educate the public about reptiles by arranging presentations at such events as children’s birthday parties.

Mr. Ali had attended a daycare event, then was brought home by a Repti-Zone employee who didn’t close the carrier properly. It was a hot day, and Mr. Ali walked out of the carrier and outside into the slightly cooler air.

Gaudry said the 6-year-old alligator is used to humans but is still a wild animal and caution is always in order. She added that this is the first time a Repti-Zone animal has gone AWOL.