Officials are warning people in the Whitney Point and Lisle areas that an alligator is on the loose.

Whitney Point Mayor Ryan Reynolds posted at about 9 a.m. on his Facebook page that the Department of Environmental Conservation is in the area investigating reports of an alligator sighting along the Tioughnioga River between Whitney Point and Lisle. According to Reynolds, the image attached to that post was taken by a kayaker on Saturday. 

According to Reynolds' update, that picture of the gator began circulating Saturday night. However, the DEC has been receiving reports for the past few weeks, and believes the alligator was someone's pet and was let go sometime in the last month.

"I first heard about it last night but it had previously been reported to the DEC sometime within the last month by fishermen. A group of kayakers spotted it yesterday and put it on social media, which is when I heard about it and questions started to come in. The kayakers called DEC yesterday and I spoke with a local rep them this morning who was going to investigate today. To my knowledge nothing was found and we can't say much with certainty other than were urging caution to be on the safe side," wrote Mayor Reynolds.

A Fox 40 reporter drove alongside the river from Marathon to Itaska. Other than Kayakers, most people seem to be steering clear of the water. 

Regardless, residents are urged to use caution if in the vicinity, not to approach it and to contact the DEC's Cortland office: 607-753-3095.  Fox 40 will bring you updates as they become available.