Authorities looking into reported sighting of an alligator on Lake Erie shoreline

First came the reports of giant goldfish swimming merrily in Lake Erie.

Now there's been an apparent sighting of an alligator along the shore of Lake Erie in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The Erie-Times News is reporting that the reptile was first spotted Sunday. A search for the alligator by wildlife and would-be gator hunters has not turned up anything just yet.

The sighting has prompted officials there to post warning signs for beach and lake visitors.

How do an alligator and a goldfish end up in Lake Erie?

Tory Gabriel, extension program leader and fisheries educator for Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State's Stone Laboratory, said the culprit for these so-called invasive species ending up in Lake Erie and other bodies of fresh water is no mystery.

Owners of freshwater pets like goldfish and even an alligator, apparently, get tired of caring for the fish and reptiles.

But these pet owners don't have the heart, he said, to flush them down the toilet or dispose of them properly, so they do what they feel is the more humane thing and simply set them loose in rivers, streams, ponds and even Lake Erie.

Giant goldfish in Lake Erie: A real fish tail. Giant goldfish swimming in Lake Erie and likely a pond near you

This is a big no-no.

State wildlife officials say anything as harmless as goldfish or as serious as, say, an alligator are not native to Lake Erie and will compete for food and throw off the ecosystem for everything from native fish to plants.

And in the case of something like an alligator, it can pose a real threat to everything from dogs to humans that can be attacked.

But unlike the goldfish that can stand Ohio's cold, wildlife officials say there's no chance an alligator could survive Lake Erie's harsh winter.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Authorities looking into reported sighting of an alligator on Lake Erie shoreline