A 5-foot-long alligator was discovered in a vacant lot in Detroit.

The dangerous reptile was found Thursday night near Detroit's east side with outside temperatures just over freezing.

The alligator was found and rescued by Shontez Gibson and his uncle after they witnessed the creature left in the abandoned lot.

"A black truck pulled up, they got out and I thought they was dumping a body," said Gibson, according to WDIV-TV. "So, I told my uncle. My uncle said, 'Come on, let's go see.' My uncle chased the truck up the street and they stopped, so my uncle ran back. And when we got back in the field I said, 'No, it's an alligator.' "

Gibson added that he was nervous to go near the alligator, but knew something had to be done to save the animal.

"So, he said, 'Pick it up,' I said, 'No, you pick it up!' " Gibson said. "He said, 'All right, come on, let's take it in the house.' I pick it up, take it in the house. He was scared and ran."

Gibson brought the alligator to his home with his uncle's help. He used a space heater to keep the creature warm and fed it fish before it was taken away on Friday.

The Michigan Humane Society took the alligator to a facility in Rochester Hills, north of Detroit, according to WLAJ.

Finding alligators in urban areas is not uncommon.

Three alligators were found in Long Island and New York in October, according to the NY Daily News.

The first incident involved the discovery of an alligator on the lawn of a Mastic Beach home. The homeowner was able to get the 2-foot alligator in a plastic container and took it to a pet shop.

Later that week, a 3-to-4 foot alligator was found outside a Baldwin, New York Pathmark supermarket wandering around the parking lot and later taken by a Nassau County Emergency Services Unit.