The Fairfax County Police Department, located in the US state of Virginia, responded to a caller who reported seeing an alligator early Monday morning.
The reptile was located outside of a motel just 20 minutes south of Washington DC.
Police told the BBC that they determined the owner was transporting the alligator from New York to a North Carolina zoo when it escaped.
Due to a Virginia code which prohibits the possession of certain non-native, exotic animals, the alligator and its owner were escorted out of the county, officials said.