This alligator was found Sunday night, Aug. 6, in the Kiski River in Armstrong County. Kiski Township Police Department/Submitted Photo

A couple of anglers fishing in the Kiski River in Armstrong County had the catch of a lifetime Sunday night, Aug. 6, when they hooked an abandoned alligator that people have reported seeing since July 30.

The anglers, fishing from a canoe, caught the 4-foot alligator — that was given the name Chomper — near the Salina Bridge around 9 p.m. and called 911, said Lee Bartolicius, chief of the Kiskiminetas Township Police Department.

The fishermen managed to lift the alligator into the canoe and took it to the boat launch off Canal Road near the Roaring Run trailhead, where police officers were waiting, Bartolicius said.

“They were fishing and it went after their bait, and they were able to get a hold of it and get it up in the canoe with them,” he said. No injuries were reported.

County humane officers took the alligator, kept it overnight and are planning to take it to Nate’s Reptile Rescue in Pittsburgh, Bartolicius said.

He said the alligator is believed to be a pet that the owner abandoned, but locating the owner would be difficult.