A live skunk was recently captured at Honolulu Harbor by Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) inspectors after several days of tracking the animal.

Last Thursday, Plant Quarantine Branch inspectors received a report that stevedores spotted a skunk running around the parking lot at Pier 1. Inspectors set traps in the area that day.

At midnight Friday, security personnel from the U.S. Immigration Office (USIO) at Pier 1 reported that the skunk was seen on a security camera entering and exiting the property through a fence. Inspectors responded to the area and attempted to capture the skunk but were not successful.

On Monday, USIO security personnel reported the skunk was seen taking shelter under a cargo container used for storage. Three inspectors responded and were able to capture the skunk using a net, pole and wooden boards to scare it out its hiding place, while braving the animal’s odoriferous natural defense system. The skunk is being tested for rabies.

It is not known how long the skunk had been in the area or what vessel it may have hitchhiked on.

Live skunks have been captured at Pier 1 in February 2018 January 2021, July 2021 and June 2022. On Maui, a live skunk was captured at Kahului Harbor in December 2020 and one was captured at a trucking company in August 2018. All previously captured skunks have tested negative for rabies.

Skunks are prohibited in Hawai‘i and are only allowed by permit for research and exhibition in a municipal zoo.

Sightings or captures of illegal and invasive species should be reported to the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).

 

Photo credit: Department of Agriculture