A road crew in Sarpy County ran across an unusual road hazard Thursday. An alligator was on the loose near 217th and Lincoln Road near Gretna.

The crews called deputies and when they arrived they tracked down the Gretna Gator in a drainage culvert. It's been captured. That's him in the picture.

It's described as being less than three feet long. Aside from that, it's described as looking like an alligator. Which appears to be a good call on the part of those doing the describing.

This is the third time in a year-and-a-half that a gator has wound up in the metro.

In July 2005, after a long search, an elusive alligator was finally plucked from the water at Carter Lake. One year later, a three-foot alligator turned up at 18th and Bancroft. And now this: a grouchy newcomer to round out the trio.

Kip Smith, of Sarpy County's Wildlife Encounters plucked the new-kid-on-the-block from the block's drainage culvert.

Kip says, "They would rather stay away from people, like he swam away from me, because when I was in the water at first, I couldn't even find him."

The gator might have been out in the wild for several weeks.

Smith says, "They can eat frogs, crickets, grasshoppers -- just like they do in the wild."

Smith and his wife Stacey keep several wild animals, many acquired through rescues. They use them for educational purposes such as school visits, much to the delight of the kids.

Stacey Smith says, "When they (the gators) are little they are really, really cute."

But she also notes that, "It's an alligator. It's going to grow. You have to have the right facilities to handle them."

Grumpy as the Gretna Gator might be in captivity, it was the best thing for him because winter is looming around the seasonal corner.

"He would freeze to death," Stacey says. "They can hibernate some, but for a long period they would just freeze."

Wildlife Encounters might keep this gator. They kept the one that used to live at 18th and Bancroft until it found its way to the front lawn while passersby were passing by. The gator from Carter Lake found a home at the Henry Doorly Zoo.