Grants Pass police officers Jonah Kopp, left, and Zach Lycett display the alligator that was found in a driveway Monday morning.

Grants Pass police apprehended an alligator on the loose Monday in a downtown neighborhood.

According to the Grants Pass Police Department, officers went to the 1300 block of Northwest Foundry Street following a 6:46 a.m. Monday report from a resident who said there was a 4-foot alligator in her driveway. That turned out to be true.

“Considering the proximity to children boarding the bus for school, it was decided the reptilian should be apprehended,” police stated. “Using life lessons learned from Steve Irwin and Coyote Peterson, officers utilized a catch pole and tape to subdue the creature and restrained its jaws.”

Peterson and the late Irwin are well-known wildlife educators, conservationists and media personalities.

The potentially dangerous alligator eventually was turned over to state wildlife officials.

Oregon State Police, which maintains a fish and wildlife enforcement division, reported that the alligator turned out to be owned by a neighbor on Foundry Street who didn’t have the required permit. But the man wasn’t cited because he acquired the alligator before the species was placed on a prohibited list, OSP stated.

The OSP report didn’t indicate how the alligator got loose in the first place.

The agency eventually handed it off to a regional veterinarian with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, who took it in her vehicle to a sanctuary near Salem.