Migrating wildlife is nothing new to western Colorado, but a caiman walking along the roadside in Parachute surely turned a few heads earlier this week.

Garfield County dispatch got a very unique call on Monday when someone reported seeing a caiman — a small species of crocodile native to Central and South America — on the side of the road near the Super 8 motel in Parachute, according to a spokeswoman. The 38-inch-long reptile was brought to the motel, said Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Tanny McGinnis, where an animal control deputy picked it up.

“That was really surprising,” she said.

Apparently the animal was so docile and unthreatening that authorities determined it was someone’s pet.

“Obviously it looks like a pet that somebody wanted to get rid of,” said McGinnis. “It certainly wasn’t wild.”

The caiman was brought to the CARE facility first and then transferred to the vet tech school at Colorado Mountain College’s Spring Valley campus.