METAIRIE – Talk about the catch of the day – a huge alligator gar was found dead in a suburban New Orleans community lagoon this week.

Workers posted on the park’s website the fish was found dead but people have reported seeing it swimming in the lagoon, which is about 20 acres. Park visitors regularly fish or hang their feet over the edge of the sidewalks, dangling into the water.

The fish was so big, it did not fit on the (ironically) Gator cart used to haul it away.

WGNO TV reported the lagoon is connected to a nearby canal through large pipes. Workers believe the gar may have meandered into the lagoon from there, though, it could be possible someone dropped the fish into the lagoon while it was alive and it lived a virtual easy life free of predators in the secluded waterway.

The gar was found in the lagoon at Metairie’s Lafreniere Park, a 155-acre park that was once a horse race track until Hurricane Betsy in 1965.

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