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Officials at Chicago's O'Hare airport had quite a surprise earlier this month when they discovered an abandoned alligator.

Chicago police initially thought it was a hoax when they received a call from ORD airport security, claiming a gator appeared to be crouching beneath an elevator in Terminal 3 (the same terminal number as the fatal shooting at LAX). But it was no joke. They found the gator—all of 18 inches, emaciated, and distressed. A security officer used a broom and dustpan to gather the gator and transport it to the local Chicago Herpetological Society for recovery. The society infamously named the reptile “Allie,” though its sex is undetermined  

American alligators’ prefer habitat that consists of wetlands and swamps along the southeast United States, with an optimal temperature of 85 to 90 degrees. So, how Allie found herself in a frigid, inland airport still remains a mystery to many, though images have since surfaced on of a possible suspect: a tattooed-man on an airport-bound train holding a small gator.

"They probably realized they couldn't take it through checkpoint, and just let him go, but, oh my God!" Tineka Walker, a security guard, told

So what’s next for Allie? After she regains strength and nutrition, the Herpetological Society plans to give the gator to a reptile park in a much warmer climate. And though Allie somehow made it through airport security, this ferocious toothed-reptile left everyone in The Windy City unscathed.