Georgia wildlife officials have caught an alligator believed to be the one seen in Lake Lanier over the last couple of months.

Department of Natural Resources officials say the alligator was caught in a pasture near the Flat Creek area of the lake Thursday night. Department spokesman Rick Lavender said the alligator is about 3 feet long, which matches the description residents in the area had given the department.

Wildlife officials had been searching for the alligator for weeks. They had set baited traps and went out at night with spotlights to try to find it.

Officials did not consider the alligator to be a threat to visitors at the lake. Lavender says the state will keep the alligator until officials can find a place in South Georgia for him.