Wrightsville Borough officials told FOX43 Friday morning a few people spotted a 3-foot long alligator swimming the Susquehanna River.
Officials say the alligator belongs to a family in Wrightsville, York County.
The reptile's owner says he was working in Pittsburgh and believes someone intentionally opened the gate to Oscar's enclosure.
Forgotten Friends Reptile Sanctuary, a non-profit organization in Lancaster County, works to rescue reptiles and provide educational outreach.
Administrators say while this may be surprising to some, this is something they deal with often.
"For us, it could be a call that we get every week," said Jesse Rothacker, herpetologist and president of the Forgotten Friends Reptile Sanctuary.
Rothacker says although it is legal in the state of Pennsylvania to have these animals as pets, he does not advise you to do so as they grow in massive sizes.
"It's just going to keep growing inches every year, said Rothacker, "10, 14, 15 feet for the large males, this is an animal that will approach 1,000 pounds,this is not a pet you want to own in the northeast."
Oscars owner agrees, saying in a statement:
“Alligators do not make good pets and I don’t condone owning them. I got mine when I was a teenager and made a commitment to responsibly care for him as long as possible.”
If you do see an alligator in your area, Rothacker advises you to take a few steps back, remain calm and call your local officials as the alligator will not hurt you.
"You're far too big for him to eat, an alligator this size can barely eat something the size of a mouse," he said, "he's definitely not going to eat a person, so if you pick him up, he might chomp you the same if you pick up a chipmunk or a squirrel."
The tail of the alligator is said to have a strong tail force which can help the alligator to swim further in the water by several miles.
Rothacker says he believes the water temperature was too cold for Oscar to swim far in, but if the river was warm enough he could have swum very far even to a neighboring state.