LOVELAND, Colo. -- Loveland city officials have closed a pond and a 30-acre recreation area after residents reported several sightings of a giant reptile in the waters.

Jayhawker Ponds in Loveland will remain closed until the creature is caught, officials said.

No one knows for sure what it is, but officials are saying it is up to 7 feet long, and that it could be an alligator or caiman that someone raised as a pet and then dumped when it got too large.

The boys who saw it Wednesday night said it was no fish.

"We were getting ready to fish and all of a sudden something big, greenish-black, jumped out of the water and tried to get onto the dock," Andrew Kapono said.

Division of Wildlife officials said they may use an electrically charged boat to bring the creature to the surface and catch it.