JASPER, Ala. (AP) — Conservation officials have confirmed that a 9-foot-long alligator was killed at a pond in the Prospect community near Lupton.

The Daily Mountain Eagle reported the confirmation Saturday and said images of the large alligator had been circulating through e-mails for nearly a week.

Phil Miller, a conservation officer with the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, said the gator was found and killed in Walker County on April 2.

He said the reptile was likely brought to Walker County illegally when it was smaller, then released when its owners realized they couldn’t keep it.

Miller said a landowner spotted the animal and contacted his office for help.

He said the gator couldn’t be relocated for several reasons, including that it was likely hand-fed by humans at one point and would associate humans with food.