A three-foot-long foot long alligator is presumed dead after a conservation officer from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shot the animal Monday in a lake in a north Twin Cities metro area lake.

Officer Scott Arntzen responded to a report that residents had seen two alligators in the city of Scandia's Goose Lake.

"We just see two eyes sticking up," said Arntzen, who has never been called to shoot an alligator before. "We saw the tail whipping. It was kind of along those lily pads. Just got up on it by shore. Wasn't too far away from it, and shot."

Arntzen wasn't able to recover the animal's body, but he said it likely is dead. He saw no sign of a second alligator, and the DNR is not actively searching for it.

The department does not consider the small alligator dangerous, and it won't survive the winter.

Arntzen said people sometimes release exotic animals into the wild after keeping them as pets, which could be a violation of local ordinances.