AUBURN, Ind. (WOWO): The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing alligator after its owner reported the reptile escaped in Auburn, according to WPTA.

WPTA reports deputies were notified Friday, June 5, that a 2-foot alligator had gone missing. The owner, Mark Kolhorst, operates Mark’s Ark, an Auburn-based business that provides interactive animal shows and petting zoos.

According to the sheriff’s office, Kolhorst told deputies the alligator escaped after slipping out of a cooler during transport.

Kolhorst told WPTA he was returning home from an event with the alligator secured inside a ventilated cooler. When he arrived and went to put the animal away, he discovered the alligator had apparently dislodged the cooler’s lid and escaped.

Kolhorst told the station the reptile is not considered a threat to the public, noting that the largest prey the young alligator would likely be capable of eating is a mouse.

As of the latest update from WPTA, the alligator had not been located, and the search remained ongoing. Authorities have not released additional information about where the animal may have been seen or whether any sightings have been reported.